


Voltron: Origins

by KestleGuard



Category: Voltron - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2018-11-19 00:45:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 31,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11302242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KestleGuard/pseuds/KestleGuard
Summary: The Black lion is a born leader and in control at all times, the Green lion is inquisitive, intelligent and daring, the Blue lion?, the Yellow lion is caring and kind, the Red lion is temperamental, faster and more agile. Where did the lions get their nature from? And from who? What happens when the Paladins of Voltron meet the spirits of the lions, which the Paladins embody and reflect.





	1. Keith

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Readers! I'm Kestle and this is my first story on Archive.  
> Voltron: Origins can also be found on FanFiction, but I wanted to expand my audience, so here it is.  
> Please, let me know what you think. I take criticism really well.  
> If you have questions let me know and I will try my best to answer them, without giving too much away.  
> Otherwise, enjoy the first chapter of Voltron: Origins.  
> Updates are every other day :)

Keith tossed and turned. He pulled the covers over his head and buried his face in his pillow. Sweat ran down the back of his neck. His black hair stuck to the sides of his face as Keith struggled to catch his breath.

Inside his dream, Keith was strapped to a table. He fought against the restraints. His first thought was the Galra had captured him, but as Keith looked around the room, he saw the familiar Altean tech and design of the hangar bay. Keith strained his neck to look behind him and sure enough saw the Red Lion, standing guard behind him.

"Help me!" Keith pleaded, but the Red Lion seemed off. The glowing yellow power in its eyes was gone and the protective shield that surrounded the lion wasn't activated. Keith continued to struggle to break free.

"There is no need for that." A hand reached out from behind him and rested on his forearm. Keith jumped, noticing the person in the room for the first time. It was a male voice and sounded young, but he didn't recognize it as being any of his crew-mates.

"Who's there?"

"Therron, now can you stop struggling, please, or this is going to hurt more." The man, Therron stepped in front of Keith and placed a syringe to his neck. Keith felt a quick gab of pain and then if was over. Therron appeared the definition of what is referred to as a strapping boy. His hair was silver and about Pidge's hair length, but he reminded Keith of Allura. He had dark skin and sharp icy blue eyes, with the blue markings under his eyes to match. He had on a white button-down shirt with a black or perhaps navy blue vest.

"What was that?" Keith turned his head from side to side as the injection ran its course through his body and made him tired.

"It was a relaxant. It won't make you pass out, but will as least prevent you from struggling. Lux was supposed to be second for the energy transfer, but the council is getting a little irritated with you, especially after you sabotaged the green lion."

"I didn't-"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me. I get it and you're right. We're rushing things and with Waverly we had to, but that doesn't have to be the case for the rest of us."

"Therron. It seems like you have a good grasp of the situation. So if you let me go, I think we can come to an agreement."

"This is the agreement. I will insure that Sorrel gets to live his life. He will be giving four years that he otherwise wouldn't have been allowed. By that time, I will be twenty-two. The council won't allow anything older, they already think they are pushing their luck with you."

"I'm nineteen."

"Then you must have lied on you paperwork." Therron chuckled, fiddling with the computer console. "I'm not here to argue with you I just want to let you know of the plan. This is what you wanted, so you can rest easy."

"Sorry, if I'm not comforted lying on a dissection table."

Therron stepped forward, but before he could say anything, the bay doors opened and an Altean woman came through. "Prince Therron, Lieutenant Lux is here."

"Please send him in." To Keith, Therron said, "I'll let you two say good-bye."

"Wait. Therron!" Keith tried to pull against the restraints again, but he didn't have his strength like before.

"Hey, Captian."

Keith looked up and saw a tall toned muscled figure. He had blond hair styled like his own, as Lance called his mullet. Keith laughed, "Guess I know what blond me would look like."

"Oh no. I'm to late he has already gone into hysterics."

"Lux, I need you to get me out of here."

"Sorry, orders are to not untie you. I think the staff is wondering if they will be able to get you back in the restraints."

"Why am I even being restrained?"

"I think they are meant so you don't harm yourself, but Cap, I'm surprised Therron isn't replacing you and even more at the damage you did to the Green Lion. Therron is a man of his word. Not sure how he convinced the council, but he plans on keeping his promise to you and Waverly."

"This isn't right. I'm a Paladin and you're just going to kill me."

"This is what you wanted to be with your sister."

"I don't have a sister."

Lux ignored the comment, "You wont be alone for long. The Yellow Lion is nearly complete and ready for linking. I guess if everything goes to plan this wont be the end. I'll see you again with Sorrel, Waverly, and Therron. So I guess this is good-bye for now." Lux squeezed his arm and then turned to leave.

"No wait! Lux, get me out of here! Lux!"

"Now we are ready to begin. Do you have any final words?" Therron returned with a group of Alteans in white suits.

"What the hell is going on?" Keith turned his head from side to side, trying to get a better view of the Alteans muddling about, from the strapped position on the table.

"Prince Therron, we are ready to begin the soul transfer."

"The WHAT!" Keith found knew strength and began fighting against his holds, which now also had the hands of multiple Altean's pressing down on him.

"Linking in ten clicks." Therron said from behind the control console. Keith saw Therron's hands were placed on the pad and Altean energy started to flow into the system as Therron began to glow. Therron looked up into Keith's eyes, "You're going to feel some discomfort. In three, two, one."

Keith felt like his whole body was on fire, the burning sensation when your feet are cold and you step into a hot shower, but the feeling covered his inter body. Keith screamed, but the sound didn't penetrate through the pain his mind and body felt in the link.

Keith woke screaming, the sound finally piercing through his subconscious, startling him awake. His whole body was sweaty and trembling. He felt cold and disoriented. He pulled his hands up, reassuring himself he wasn't pinned down to the table and rubbed his fingers through his long hair.

"What the hell was that?"


	2. Shiro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Readers and thank you for reading :)  
> Please don't forget to comment and tell me what you think.  
> I'm going to rotate point of view between the five Paladins and that will be the name of each chapter.  
> Again, thanks for reading.  
> I hope you enjoyed chapter 2.

"There you are. Everyone's been looking for you. Have you been here all night?" Shiro barged through the hanger bay doors towards Keith, who sat on the floor his red jacket was at his side with his bayard and his arms were folded on top of his knees, looking up at the Red Lion.

"Most of it."

"Are you having trouble sleeping? I know a lot has happened recently and I'm sure you have many questions too."

"You don't know the half of it, Shiro."

"I wont until you tell me." Shiro sat down beside Keith. He followed his line of sight to the Red Lion. "What are you searching for?"

"Like you said, answers."

"What answers do you think your lion has?"

Keith laughed, "I don't know. That's why I'm here." 

"Keith-"

"He know's something, Shiro. Of that I'm certain." Keith turned to look at him. His tone was serious and Shiro caught a slight look in his eye that told him he was scared, before Keith returned to looking up at the Red Lion. 

"I think you're tired."

"When you were trying to strengthen your bond with the black lion, you saw visions of the past, of Zarkon."

"Yes." Shiro said hesitantly. He could tell Keith was driven by something, which had Keith on edge. He kept looking away from him, but know with this knew confirmation Keith seemed to have solved some hidden question.

"I think my lion is also showing me visions."

"Of what?"

"Before Voltron. I don't know why, but if what I saw was true. I don't know if the Altean's can be trusted."

"Keith-"

"What do we really know about them." Keith stood up and began pacing. "They created the greatest super machine across the universe and all that is left of this great high tech race is two Alteans. Have you talked to Allura or Coran about their life on Altea. Because the planet we met them on wasn't Altea so how long were they on the other planet. How was Altea destroyed?"

"They were in cryostasis. They don't know how it happened."

Keith turned to Shiro, "Which is my point, Shiro. Neither do we." Keith crossed his arms, turning away, back at the Red Lion.

Shiro sighed, he didn't understand why Keith was troubled, but saw the fear in his eyes. When he had looked at him and could see Keith felt guilty for not trusting the Alteans, but something still tugged at him. "You're not wrong, but Allura and Coran have done nothing but help us against the Galra, who I have seen first hand destroy peaceful planets."

"You're right. Forget I said anything."

Shiro's shoulder's slumped down. This is what he didn't want to happen; Keith shutting him out. Shiro had known Keith a long time enough to know that when he struggled, Keith's first instinct was to close up and shut the world out. Shiro also knew that this action also caused Keith to act on impulse. "Keith, I don't know what's bothering you, but I don't want you to go making enemies out of our friends. I may not be able to help, but I'm always here to listen."

"I won't and Shiro, I'm trusting you to keep this a secret between us. Don't tell anyone. I need to be sure. Can I count on you?"

Shiro sighed in relief, "Whatever you need Keith, you can trust me. I know we can work this all out and you will regain your trust of the others as well."

"I hope so." Keith took a step closer to the Red Lion but then hesitated and stepped away. 

Shiro tried to come up with something to help console Keith, but he could tell his focus was already back on the Red Lion. Shiro left him to his own devices and headed back to the control room. When he left the hangar bay, a tall figure approached. Shiro was about to call out, assuming it was Lance, when he caught a glimpse of blond hair.

"Sir, it's over? It worked, right?" The blond bombarded him with questions.

Shiro activated his robotic arm, preparing to attack the intruder.

"Sir?"

Shiro raised his hand, but as he began his swing, the blond figure disappeared and Hunk stood before him, cowering beneath his hand, "Shiro."

"Hunk?" Shiro lowered his hand to his side confused. He looked behind him, but the blond haired figure was gone.

"Yes, what has gotten into you. You just decide to scare me to death, by threatening to kill me?"

"I thought I saw someone else."

"I saw my life flash before my eyes, who did you see?"

"I don't know."

"Weird." Hunk looked at Shiro suspiciously. "Also side note, I was sent to find you and Keith is he in there." Hunk tried to walk passed Shiro, but Shiro stepped in front, blocking Hunk's path.

"Keith didn't get much sleep last night, I think it's best to leave him be."

"Sure, okay and what about you and your mysterious glowing hand, I think you need to do the same. Attacking friends is definitely not normal."

"You're right. I'll head back to my quarters now. You should go check in with the others."

"I will, you just worry about yourself."

"Will do, Hunk." Shiro patted Hunk's shoulder and continued down the hall.

Shiro headed back towards his quarters, but when Hunk was out of sight, he turned left towards the Black Lion's hangar. When he reached the hangar, Shiro locked the bay door behind him.

Shiro turned looking up at his lion almost with the same searching look Keith had, but now Shiro understood.

"What are you trying to tell me now?"


	3. Hunk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone and thank you for reading Voltron: Origins.  
> So I missed posting yesterday :( but I hope you enjoyed chapter 3!  
> Thanks for reading! :)

"Does anyone else feel like something is up with Keith and Shiro?" Hunk walked onto the bridge, the central control room to the castle of lions. The giant crystal, which the team had obtained from the Balmera and powered the ship was overhead at the center, where Allura stood reviewing their plan of attack on Zarkon. 

"Did you find them?" Allura asked, turning around from the control console. She had the monitor up with Zarkon's ship and was trying to isolate possible variables to insure the most effective attack. 

"If by them you mean Shiro, because he wouldn't let me into the hangar bay to see Keith. He was all guard dog defensive. Something is going on with them."

"Shiro is the black paladin, which belonged to Zarkon before him and Keith learned he is part Galra. I think it's safe to say there would be something wrong with any of us if we learned that. I think they are handling it very well." Pidge typed away on her computer. She was sitting on the side steps on Hunk's left. He recognized the coding to be Galra, but couldn't figure out what it was about.

"I second that." Lance was looking over Coran's shoulder at his workstation as Coran monitored the systems over the Castle of Lions. He was running a full diagnostic of the castles systems in preparation. The crew had decided to take the day to rest up and prepare, while the teludav was finished and repaired where Slov had damaged it. Lance reached to push a button and Coran swatted him away.

Hunk walked down the side steps Pidge was on and took her laptop away.

"Hey!" Pidge yelled, causing everyone in the control room to turn towards her.

"Okay, okay, but that doesn't mean Shiro gets a free pass at trying to kill me. He almost cut off my head when I went up to talk to him with his glowing hand. Anyone second that as okay?"

"Well that's not like him."

"No Allure, its not. Zarkon being evil and previous Paladon I get. Shiro trying to kill me not so much. I don't know, maybe, we need to rethink the timing of attacking Zarkon."

Pidge had stood up and was jumping to try to get her laptop out of Hunk's hands, but he kept turning away at the last second and Pidge kept missing. "Hunk, give it."

"Am I the only one concerned here?"

"Concerned. For Keith." Lance paused for a moment. "No, can't do it. Ow!"

Coran swatted Lance's hand again. "Don't touch buttons, when you don't know what they do, and you Paladons all need to care for one another."

"But no one wants to do anything. Here, vulture. Has everyone turned into wild animals today?"

Pidge snatched the laptop out of Hunk's hands before he could change his mind. "You said Keith was in the Red Lion's hangar?"

"That's what is seemed like. However, Shiro wouldn't let me in to see him like I said."

"I'll pull up the camera feed." Pidge typed on her computer. "There. Looks like Keith is in there."

"What is he doing?" Lance said, walking over to look behind Pidge at the screen.

"Pull it up on the monitor," Allura requested.

Pidge typed on the keypad and the screen popped up on the overhead monitor. Coran joined the group on the upper deck. They stared at the screen in silence. The group squinted, except Lance who tilled his head sideways like a dog.

"My question still stands. What is he doing?"

"Standing," Coran said.

"Looking at his lion," Pidge said.

"Maybe he is having a staring contest," Hunk said.

"The lion has his mouth open it must want him to go in," Allura said.

"Why wouldn't Keith go in?" Lance asked.

"Why would he have a staring contest with a machine?" Hunk asked.

"Shh, hey, look he moved." Lance silenced Hunk.

The group took another moment staring at the screen.

"I think he stepped back." Pidge said adjusting her glasses.

"Well, why would he do that? What's wrong with the lion? What's wrong with him?" Hunk started bantering questions at the others.

"Maybe it's a new bonding exercise," Coran suggested.

"Yah, they seem real close," Pidge commented.

A buzzer on the monitor started going off.

"What's that? Are we under attack? Is it the Galra? How did they find us?" Hunk continued his banter.

"No. It's not an attack," Allura pushed the video to the side with a swipe of her hand and pulled up the buzzer warning that said 'hangar bay locked'. "That's strange it seems Shiro has locked himself in the Black Lion's hangar bay. He must not want to be disturbed either."

"Oh I knew he was lying to me when he said he was going back to his room."

"I'm sure he is fine, Hunk." Allura tried to reassure him.

"And what about Keith?"

Allura turned away. Hunk knew she still refused to acknowledge Keith since she found out he was part Galra, but he could feel in his gut, the fear was warranted. 

"Well I know one thing. There is no way I'm letting Keith be closer or more connected then me and Blue." Lance turned to leave.

Hunk turned, watching him as he left. "Where are you going?"

"To do some further bonding exercises with Blue." Lance said, before the door closed behind him.

"I think I saw something!" Pidge said, enthusiastically.

"What is it?" Coran strained his neck up closer to the monitor, looking over the screen.

"Nothing, I was just kidding," Pidge tapped a button on her laptop and the video feed link on the monitor disappeared. "Not that spying on Keith isn't fun, but I'm going to head to the Green Lion's hangar bay. I think I can make the invisibility cloaking last longer. I'll see you all later, and Hunk, I'm sure the other two are just tired. They well be back to themselves soon enough."

Hunk nodded and Pidge left the control room. Once Pidge had left, he slumped his shoulders forward. "I'm not anymore convinced their fine." His stomach growled. "If anyone needs me I'll be in the kitchen stress cooking."

"That's the spirit, Hunk."

Allura just shook her head at Coran as Hunk sulked out of the room.


	4. Pidge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Readers!
> 
> I hope you like chapter 4 and if you like reading Voltron-Origins, please let me know what you think :)

Pidge yawned as she sat cross-legged underneath the Green Lion in its hangar bay. She was typing on her laptop, going over the programming that allowed the Green Lion to go invisible. She had a lab table, filled with equipment and broken tech parts scattered on it, to the side.

Pidge bent her neck backward to look at the Green Lion, which was siting upright. The force field had been off since she had walked in, a few hours ago, but the Green Lion's glowing eyes showed the lion to be active. "Is watching me entertaining for you?" Pidge asked the lion, receiving no response. "I guess this counts as bonding. What do you think?" This time Pidge heard a purr in her head. Pidge smiled and continued tapping away on her computer.

A notice popped up on Pidge's computer reading: 'Black Lion hangar unlocked'. "I guess Shiro got bored." Pidge stared in silence at the notice. "Do you think Hunk was right to be worried? They have gone through a lot."

Pidge deleted the notice and pulled up the link to the video feed of Keith, who was still standing facing the Red Lion. The lion had shut its mouth and was staring back with its glowing yellow eyes. "He's been in there a long time. Is he waiting for something? Do you lions know something we don't?"

Pidge looked behind her again and saw the energy from the Green Lion's eyes die away. Pidge turned around sideways, staring up at the Green Lion. When the light went out completely in the lion's eyes, so did the power to the hangar bay. "Oh come on!"

Pidge tapped the keypad to her laptop to light up the screen and the room. She muttered under her breath, "Stupid ten thousand year old castle." When the screen didn't turn on, Pidge pressed more furiously on the keys. "Ugh, you old pile of junk." Pidge slammed the top of the laptop down and set the computer to the side.

She could see the glowing green outside rim to the control panel by the hangar door. Pidge got up and walked to the panel. She tapped on the panel to activate the controls and the screen popped up. "Hm." Pidge tapped on the light switch and the lights came back on. "Weird nothing's damaged. Did the lights turn off on their own? AH!" Pidge turned around to see the Green Lion's hangar transformed.

The room looked like a construction zone. There were stacks of tech equipment and spare parts covering the hangar, more than what Pidge had on her little work table, which was now buried behind the metal work structures. The lion stood on all four with cords dangling above, attached, and off the sides of the Green Lion. The work structures were up against the arms and legs, but the most alarming part of all was the absent head to the Green Lion. Pidge stared at the headless Green Lion and couldn't speak. She slowly scanned the room and found the detached head set to the side in the right corner, surrounded by more parts and tools. Pidge shuffled over to the head still shaken to see the Green Lion's head, which only moments ago had been towering above her lying on the floor now at eye level with her.

As Pidge got closer to the lion's head, she noticed the head was larger then she had originally thought. When she was standing next to it, she had though she would at least be as tall as the mouth, but her head barely reached the top of the lower jaw. Pidge saw another metal structure attached to the head and climbed up. The structure reached to eye level and Pidge sat down, cross-legged again, staring sideways at the Green Lion's empty eyes.

"If you know what is going on, now would be a good time to tell me." Pidge stared at the Green Lion not receiving a response. "Before I start panicking." She said more forcefully.

"Hey, what are you doing in here?" Pidge jumped at the new voice. She turned around to see a tall male figure, weaving through the equipment towards her. Pidge started to climb down, but by the time she was about to reach the bottom, two hands reached out and threw her over the shoulder of the male.

"Put me down!"

"No, you have been told to stay away from the hangar. Why don't you listen?" The voice didn't belong to any of the her crew-mates, but being thrown over the shoulder only allowed Pidge to see the back of his pants and floor.

"I said, 'put me down'" Pidge squirmed in the man's grip, but Pidge felt tiny in his hold.

"Will you cut it out, Squirt, before someone hears you. If we get caught, I wont cover for you."

Pidge stopped squirming, collecting her thoughts. She realized this man thought he knew her, but her question was why. Pidge looked back at the Green Lion head, but didn't get any response. Her body trembled, fearing that the Green Lion was truly damaged.

"Hey, you don't need to worry. I wont tell anyone know you were in here."

They reached the hangar door and the male closed it behind him. Once they were in the hallway, the male put Pidge down. She looked up at him and the first thing she noticed was he was extremely tall, but that seemed wrong. She didn't recognize him, but his pointy ears showed he was Altean. This man seemed to be as tall as a Galra, however, he didn't have any other defining features that would make him seem so. His blond hair and pale skin seemed more human then Galra. Pidge reminded herself that Keith was also Galra, though he looked human and so she assumed this man was half Altean and Galra.

"Feel better now that you're on your own two feet?"

"What happened?"

"Yeah the Captain really screwed up the lion good." The male rubbed the back of his neck. He looked guilty and nervous.

"Where is he?"

The male was caught of guard. He grabbed what appeared to be a dog tag around his neck and slid it back and forth across the chain. The man didn't say anything and averted his eyes from Pidge.

She finally came to the realization that she should maybe run away from the Altean. He shouldn't be there for one and he seemed off himself. Pidge wanted answered, but thought the control deck and data might offer better Intel. She looked behind her, but before Pidge could turn and leave, the Altean kneeled down, placing his hands on her shoulders, preventing her from running. "Listen, Squirt."

"Don't call me that."

The Altean didn't listen. "Squirt, I'm sorry. He went through the transfer, but that's a good thing. You understand that, right? He's with Waverly."

Pidge was confused, she didn't understand if she was supposed to know who that was. "What do you mean?"

"He is bonded to the Red Lion, Squirt."

Pidge looked down at the ground, trying to process the meaning of what the Altean was saying. Pidge glared up at the Altean coming to a conclusion, "What did you do to Keith?"

"What are you two doing here?"

The new voice caused Pidge to jump once again and the Altean stood up, pushing Pidge behind him. Pidge came to waist height alongside the Altean and although he was taller then the newcomer, it wasn't by a large amount. The new Altean had the same pointy ears, but silver hair, a slightly darker shade to Allura's, but matching dark skin like her. He was lengthy and wore a more dressy attire of a dark blue vest and white-collar shirt that was unbuttoned at the top, with a matching dark blue suit jacket, compared to the white t-shirt with light blue military jacket the other Altean wore open.

"We went for a walk and just happened to stop here."

"Right here? In front of the Green Lion's bay doors. On a walk down a hallway you knew led only to the other hangars. Were you headed to a different one?" The Silver Altean was inquisitive, but not judgmental. He had a smile on his face jokingly, but the Blond Altean didn't return it.

"Just went for a walk."

"Well I don't have to remind you, Lieutenant, that the hangars are off limits until the Green Lion is repaired and the modifications made to the armor of the Yellow Lion. I also don't want the others to be disturbed."

"What did you do to Keith and Shiro?" Pidge pushed passed the Blond Altean.

"Don't worry you will be able to see them again, just not now."

"That doesn't answer my question of what did you do to them in the first place?"

"Also Lieutenant, I thought you would like to know that the modifications won't take longer then three months and you should be prepared for that."

"Thanks for the update. Come on, Squirt. I will take you back to the main quarters." The Blond Altean reached for her arm, but Pidge swatted him away.

"My name's not Squirt and why are you ignoring my question?"

"You can't stay here. You have to go." The Silver Altean came up behind her to push her towards the blond, but Pidge jabbed her elbow back into his stomach.

"Ow, Pidge."

Pidge looked back at the Silver Altean and saw Shiro laying on his back in the Altean's place. She turned to look towards the other Altean, but all she saw was the empty hallway. Pidge turned back to Shiro, moaning on the floor.

"Shiro, I'm glad you're okay."

"Pidge, I think you and I need to work on our understanding of okay. I think you knocked the wind out of me."

"Sorry, what are you doing here?"

"I came to find you."

"Wait, I need to check something." Pidge stood up and ran back into the Green Lion's hangar.

Pidge stared dumbfounded. The hangar had returned to normal. The lab table on the left with her laptop on the floor was otherwise an empty room beside for the Green Lion, of course, which was in one piece, head and all.

"What is it?" Shiro asked, leaning against the side of the doorway.

"It's back or all gone. There was all this equipment and parts scattered everywhere and cords and the head. The Green Lion's head was over there. Honest, Shiro. I'm not making this up."

"I believe you. I actually came to ask if you had seen anything strange today, but seems like I don't even have to ask. I think I'm going to head back to the Black Lion's hangar." Shiro stood up, cradling his stomach.

"Sorry, again Shiro."

Shiro raised his hand as he shuffled away back down the corridor he had come.

Pidge looked back at the Green Lion. "Did you do that?" She continued to stare at the yellow eyes of the Green Lion, but like before she didn't receive a response.


	5. Lance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glossary (Names I came up with)  
> Zelcon* Month  
> Keev* Week

Lance sat in the Blue Lion's cockpit. His head was tilled back and arms crossed. He snuggled into his chair, his eyes closed.

After storming out of the control deck, he walked down to the Blue Lion's hangar bay and with enthusiasm, he sat in the control chair, closed his eyes, prepared to further build his bond with Blue.

"Okay, Blue let's do this." It took only a few minutes without a response for Lance to need to break the silence. "We are much better then Keith?"

Lance started to have a one sided conversation with himself, leaving pauses for the Blue Lion to step in.

"Hunk seemed really worried about him and Shiro." Pause. "But those two can take care of themselves." Pause. "Everyone thinks I can't do anything." Pause. "But you don't think that." Pause. "I know we can be the best pair."

The conversation dragged on until Lance tired himself out and fell asleep.

Lance slowly began to lean sideways towards his right and finally slid towards the side. The falling motion caused Lance to jump awake. "What happened?" Lance looked around the cockpit, trying to place his surroundings. "What am I doing here?" It took a moment and then he remembered the morning events. "Alright, well I think that was a successful bonding exercise."

Lance stood up, leaving through the Blue Lion's mouth. He whistled as he walked, his hand folded behind his head. As he exited, he did a big stretch.

"Busted!"

Lance screamed. Hanging off the edge of the Blue Lion's mouth was a young boy, who looked to be twelve or thirteen. His hair had a pale green tint and he wore a light-blue buttoned cardigan with a white collared shirt underneath. He also had two pointy ears sticking out of his short messy mop of hair.

The little boy laughed, jumping down from his hold of the Blue Lion's mouth. He ran and stood in front of Lance at the bottom of the ramp. "You look like you saw a ghost."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am."

"We aren't supposed to be in here, if Therron finds out you were inside, he's going to be so mad." The little boy came up the ramp and grabbed Lance's wrist.

"Is that another ghost?" Lance asked as the boy tugged on his arm down the ramp and out of the Lion's mouth. The boy had more strength then Lance originally expected and felt like he was being yanked around. The boy had also seemed small about half the height of Lance, but when the boy came up the ramp and pulled him down onto the floor to the hangar, Lance noticed he was eye level with the boy.

"We have to be careful, but do you want to go on an adventure?" The boy leaned in towards Lance, his hands folded behind his back.

Lance leaned away, "No."

"Then follow me." The boy grabbed Lance's wrist again and began dragging him along behind him, running to the hangar door.

"I said no ghost. I don't want to go with you."

"I have to show you this place I found." The boy opened the hangar door and continued to run down the hallway across from the hangar, which lead to the stairwell at the center that lead to the upper levels of the castle.

"Oh man, you've come to reap my soul? Please, I'm too young to die. I know you are also younger then me, but you understand."

The boy continued to run looking straight ahead ignoring Lance's plea. "You're the first person I'm taking there."

"I'm touched, but horrified."

Lance and the boy made it to the entrance to the Great Hall and the boy went around the balcony to the doorway all the way on the left. They passed by many Altean's who didn't pay them any attention. "I knew the castle was haunted," Lance yelled as they turned right, down a side hallway. The boy bumped into someone in front of him and Lance bumped into the boy.

"Hey watch it you two!"

He looked up and saw a tall blond Keith, but before Lance could get a good look, he was being dragged away by the boy again. "Sorry," the boy cried over his shoulder.

Lance lost count of the number of turns and side passageways the boy dragged him down. His arm hurt, and he was getting really winded. "Stop, please."

They boy instantly dropped Lance's arm and turned to face him as Lance leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor to rest.

"I'm sorry, I forget about your health issues."

"I don't have health issues. I just can't catch my breath being dragged around this massive castle."

"Did I push to hard?"

"You don't listen, do you kid?"

"It's not much further." The boy stood up and holding his arms out spun around. "See there isn't anyone around."

Lance looked up and down the hallways and noticed they were empty. He didn't know when the people had disappeared. He was used to the hallways being empty, he felt it was actually normal, but it had been awhile since another Altean ghost had passed and now he was alone with the little Altean boy.

"God I really am going to die."

The Altean boy continued down the hall. Lance stood up and the boy turned around and called, "Ready?" He continued to walk down the hall, for the first time not racing about. Lance cautiously followed, walking faster only to catch up when the boy turned left again. Lance heard the opening of a door and turned the corner to see the boy enter a single door on the right. Lance stood in the doorway amazed.

Inside the room were cylinders filled with blue streaks of light. The light floated around in some form of liquid. Lance subconsciously entered the room. He looked at the countless containers that lit the room with the glowing blue light.

"Their beautiful, aren't they?" The boy asked.

"How did you find this place?"

"I stumbled across this room when I was running away from another checkup. Therron keeps poking and prodding at me, I was tired of it. I wondered through the halls and found this."

Lance snapped his fingers, "I have seen this before, what are they? I know it."

"I think they're stored memories."

"That's it!" Lance remembered how he and his team had hooked Sendak up to a stasis pod and tried to extract his memories.

"Therron is going to start to collect my memories."

Lance turned towards the boy, who had his hand pressed up against on of the cylinders.

The boy turned towards Lance and gave him a big grin. "It won't be that bad."

Lance didn't know what to say and tried to divert the conversation. "Who's memories do you think these are?" Lance gestured at the cylinder the Altean's hand was pressed against. 

The Altean removed his hand and nodded at the cylinder, "I think these are yours."

"What!"

"You have gone into the stasis pod once a keev for the past two zelcon. I also followed one of Therron's assistants wheel a cart up in this direction. I didn't follow her the whole way, because I thought I would get caught." The boy sat on the ground, fiddling with the end of his cardigan. "Do you think if all our memories are stored, then we aren't going to die?"

"I'm most certainly not dying here." Lance protested. The boy looked up at him with longing in his lime colored eyes. The boy was scared. Lance walked over and sat beside him. "And neither are you."

"You're right. We aren't going to disappear. Even if we don't live on, a part of us will still remain." The boy smiled at Lance again and Lance returned it, the first time he didn't feel afraid of the Altean boy.

The blue light in the cylinders began to fade and suddenly the boy was gone and then the light altogether. Lance started to panic. He scurried on all fours in the dark back to the door, which opened automatically when he got closer to it onto a lit hallway. "Phew, I thought the power had gone out completely." Lance stood up and entered the hallway, looking down both directions. "Now where am I?" Lance started to pull at his hair. "Ugh, I knew I should have paid more attention to the turns that little brat took."

Lance looked up and down the hallway and all around him. "He isn't coming back is he? Oh no, he left me to starve and wander the creepy castle just like him." Lance started walking quickly down the hallway back the way he came. "No, I can do this. I will find my way back on my own."

Lance took a left and then two rights before walking a ways down the hall and taking another left. The hallways all looked the same with tall white halls and the same lit blue lights that were evenly spaced, with occasional doors in between. Lance paused, looking down one hallway and then down the other side. He pursed his lips, turning his head from side to side before looking up at the ceiling and shouting, "Someone, please get me out of here!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Readers!  
> I hope you like Chapter 5.  
> Please comment and let me know what you think so far :)


	6. Keith

Keith had been staring at the Red Lion since four a.m. He now stood pacing back and forth along the hangar. "I know you showed me that vision. I want to know why?"

The Red Lion didn't respond. Keith was only certain the lion could hear him because the yellow light shown in the Red Lion's eyes.

Keith stopped pacing and looked at the Red Lion head on. With his arms crossed, Keith closed his eyes and took a deep breath in and let it out. "Patience yields focus."

Keith calmed his building frustration. "What are you trying to tell me? I need more to go on. You have to let me in." Relaxed, Keith reopened his eyes. The Red Lion had opened his mouth, revealing the ramp, which led to the cockpit.

With one last deep breath for good measure, Keith took a single step forward. Satisfied, he strode forward, but on his 3rd step, he walked straight into the Red Lion's protective force field.

"Damn it!" Keith banged both his fists against the force field. The Red Lion had done this every time Keith tried to get close, since this morning.

After about two hours of trying to break down the force field with his own Bayard just in spite, he had worn himself out and sat down to glare up at the Red Lion until Shiro found him about an hour later.

Since then Keith had been standing and pacing the hangar, trying to calm and ease the Red Lion into letting him on board.

Keith heard the first growl all morning in his head, but it was one of amusement. The Red Lion was enjoying Keith's attempts.

Keith let his rage get the better of him and he kicked the force field. "Stop being stubborn. You just proved you can hear me, so answer my question." Keith stepped back looking up into the Red Lion's eyes. Keith held out his arms to his side and shouted, "Well!" waiting for the Red Lion's reply.

There was a moment of silence between them and then the Red Lion's eyes went dim, but the force field remained active.

Keith took in another deep breath, puffing out his chest, and clenching his fist. "Oh forgot it!" Keith walked away, picking up his jacket and Bayard on the ground before storming out of the hangar without looking back at the Red Lion.

Keith didn't stop, he continued down the hallway to the center stairwell that would lead him to the main level, when he saw Pidge come down the hallway from the Green Lion's hangar.

"Hey Keith, I was coming to check up on you. Hunk seemed worried this morning and I saw-"

"Not now, Pidge." Keith cut her off and continued up the stairwell to the main level and then proceeded to cross to another side stairwell, leading up to the third floor and training deck with determination.

He opened the doors to the training deck prepared to start the simulator when he stopped suddenly.

The tall blond Altean Lieutenant Lux was leaning against the far wall with a loose white shirt that only went to his shoulders. His hair was pushed back with a hair band. He had both his arms and legs crossed with a metal pole, one of the weapons he had seen Allura use to fight with, underneath his foot.

"It's about time. I thought you weren't going to show." Lux said, rolling the pole onto the top of his foot, throwing it up in the air and catching it with his hand. By the time it took for Lux to grab his weapon, Keith was already on him and Lux was forced to quickly counter. "Wow! Bad day," Lux asked, swinging the pole in an attack.

Keith countered the swing. "Very."

"Glad to see I have resorted to being your outlet for your rage." Lux attempted another attack and forced Keith to remain on the defensive.

"Well if you're not going to be useful, what's the point of you being here."

"Harsh, remember I'm not the one that offended you."

"You're right the Red Lion is a stubborn ass."

"Come on. You know he means well."

"Well, I'm not here for his amusement. We're supposed to be a team."

"Maybe you need to give him more credit," Lux leaned back to avoid Keith's blade and Keith took the advantage, for a sideways kick. Lux was able to block most of the force but was still thrown sideways all the way to the wall. Lux stumbled up on his hands and knees, "Or not."

Keith waited for him to get back on his feet. Slightly startled, "I didn't know I could kick that hard."

"You have a strong kick."

"Isn't that what I just said?"

Lux sighed, "As I was saying, he is only doing what he thinks is best. He is always looking to the future, but sometimes Therron needs to know he has a life to live right now. We all do."

"When were we…" Keith trailed off, trying to make sense of the conversation.

"How's Waverly? That's why you're mad, right?" Lux paused getting back on his feet. "I heard her physical exam didn't go well. Her health is getting worse." Another pause, "I overheard some council member's in the hall talking about how she wouldn't make a good candidate for the transfer."

Keith shivered, remembering being tied down to the table.

"I know you yelled it out at Therron," Lux gave a light laugh, "I can't believe the guards had to have you removed, but something must have stuck because the council seemed even more angry that Therron wouldn't reconsider." Lux walked closer to Keith, "You might want to consider offering him an apology. Besides, he might be a royal pain, but he's ours." Lux swung his weapon and hit Keith in the side, sending him rolling towards the other wall. "Damn, I can't get as much force as you."

Keith struggled to stand. The pain vibrated up and down his left side. Lux walked over and offered Keith his hand. "Want to go again?" Lux asked.

Keith took his hand surprised by the pressure. Keith knew that he had kicked Lux, but that didn't stop him from thinking his hand would faze through Lux's now offered hand. With Lux's help, Keith got back on his feet. "Why do you trust Therron?" Lux took a few stepped back and entered a fighting stance. "If you know about the transfer, then, you know he is just going to kill you."

"Ready?" Lux said.

"What am I missing?"

Lux struck first, sending one strike after another at Keith, forcing him back on the defensive. "Why would you willingly sacrifice yourself? What power does he hold over you? I don't get it."

Keith and Lux's weapons clashed and held, both fighting to gain the upper hand. "I swore I would follow you anywhere, Captain."

Keith pulled away and swung down, "Why?" Keith shouted.

"Hey, Keith, who you talking too?"

Keith turned towards the doors and saw Pidge standing in the doorway. Keith turned back to where Lux had been standing, only moments ago, and did a scan of the whole room, before turning to face Pidge. "No one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi readers,  
> Sorry for not publishing the new chapters, but I'm updating them now.  
> If you want to see the new chapters on time they are posted first to fanfiction.  
> Please comment :)


	7. Shiro

Shiro hobbled down the stairs into the infirmary. Coran was cleaning one of the sleep pods.

"Ah, Shiro, everyone was looking for you earlier. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Shiro said, taking another step down the stairs to the level floor. He winced as the movement jabbed at his stomach. "Well, no, not really. Can you hook me up in one of these things and check to see if I'm really okay?"

"You need a check up?"

"Yes. That's one name for it."

"Anything, you want me to look for in particular?"

"Strange brain activity. I think—I think I might be hallucinating. I know my heads been scrambled since I was a prisoner of the Galra, but this is different."

"Alright then in, you go." Coran turned on the control panel to the pod next to him, which unlocked the seal on the pod.

Shiro entered the pod and watched as Coran locked the pod and then everything went dark.

Shiro woke a few minutes later when the pod was reopened. He stepped out of the pod, his stomach feeling much better.

"I ran a full diagnostic and you're in perfect health. Nothing wrong with your brain or any other part of you, for that matter. You seemed to have been developing a bruise on your abdomen, but the pod was able to heal it. However, I doubt your concern is for a mere bruise."

"It's not. Earlier today, I thought I saw a person on the ship. I've never seen them before. He had the markings under his eyes like yours, so I think it was an Altean, but even so, that's impossible."

"Perhaps, and this is the first time you say it's happened."

"Yes."

"Hm." Coran looked over the diagnostic again. "Well, there's no signs of anything being wrong."

"Coran, does the castle have logs of Alteans that used to be on the ship with picture identification? Maybe I can describe him to you and we can find him in a database."

"I doubt the database will be any help. It has five hundred years of Alteans coming and going."

"I forgot about that."

"However, it won't hurt to try. Maybe I can even identify him. What did he look like? Coran began pressing buttons on the control console.

"He was tall, young early twenties, at most, and appeared to be wearing a military uniform. He also had brown eyes and blond hair."

"What is blond hair?" Coran asked.

"You know it was yellowish."

"Oh, you mean lumid hair."

"Sure, Coran, lumid hair does that help." Shiro crossed his arms, leaning in to see if anything came up on the screen, but didn't see anything.

"You just described a soldier with lumid hair."

"And brown eyes."

"And brown eyes, Shiro that very well could be any number of Alteans at the time. At least over half."

"Well, it's all I have to go on. How was I suppose to know a young soldier in the castle with lumid hair was so common." Shiro thought about Keith but pushed it aside, remembering his promise.

"Soldiers often patrolled the castle and Alteans often had light colored hair. It's a reflection of the Altean energy. The more Altean energy one possesses the lighter their hair. That is for adults. Children are a little more complicated. Their hair tends to be lighter and before they become a full adult, their energy tends to fluctuate and can sometimes be unstable."

"How old are they when the energy fluctuates?"

"Oh, I would say somewhere from twelve to twenty earth years."

Shiro smiled, "A teenager."

"If you say so. Allura and past members of the royal bloodline possess a large amount of Altean energy, which is why her hair is white. It is also why I am unable to power the castle. I do have quite a bit of Altean energy, but not nearly as much as the princess, and as I get older my Altean energy only slowly diminishes."

"So Alteans don't have dark hair." Shiro started to twist a strand of his white hair, between his eyes. He still couldn't remember how it had happened but figured just like everything else related to his capture by the Galra, he would remember sooner or later.

"Not normally no. If they are half Altean there is a stronger chance, but it's very uncommon for Alteans to have brown hair and rare to have black."

"Why, is it looked down upon to have dark hair?"

"No, not so much disgraced, as it is pitied. As I said, Alteans with dark hair don't possess as much Altean energy, which can result in limitations and for children, who are born with dark hair. It can also be harmful to their health. Altean energy is our life force, without it, particularly, at a young age, many died before they reached maturity."

"Hm." Shiro paused, taking in this new information. "What about Allura's dark shin?"

"What about it? The Altean energy doesn't affect skin that is strictly genetic. Alteans had all different types of skin tones. It doesn't matter."

Shiro smiled again. "You're right about that."

"In most cases, the lightness of one's hair didn't matter either unless part of the royal family. It was always seen as necessary that the ruler of Altea possess the most Altean energy. If there was another that possessed more, whether they be from a noble family or not, they were to be the successor. I've never known that to happen, but when King Alfor was little, he didn't expect to be crowned king.


	8. Hunk

Hunk wore a white apron and blue rubber gloves. He was in the kitchen washing the dishes for the fourth time as he waited on his eighth dish in the oven. He had found a routine, which helped calm his anxiety and fears that Keith and Shiro where hiding something, that they didn't trust the rest of the team, or that they were in trouble. Hunk's mind wandered and he scrubbed harder at the bowl to bring his focus back to the present. Hunk finished washing the first of several bowls in the kitchen, which Hunk had taken the liberty of using them all.

Hunk looked around the kitchen for a place to put the clean bowl for the time before he started on his ninth dish. To Hunk's right the counter was piled high with dirty mixing cups, utensils, bowls, and plates; on his left the counter was covered in different colored goo, spice containers, and bags of collected plants from a recent planet Hunk had scavenged.

Hunk turned around to see the long counter against the left side of the room with the line of completed dishes. He had made, what looked like, a yellow pie, a green veggie-loaf, white bread, pink soup, red chips with a grey sauce, purple veggie curry, and a whole tower of blue cookies. Hunk placed the bowl face down to the side of the dishes and went to check on his rainbow colored pizza baking in the oven. Hunk decided it needed more time and went back to the sink picking another bowl out from the pile to scrub.

"I told you already!" Keith's voice echoed in the hallway.

"Telling me to forget it. Doesn't tell me anything." Pidge said as she and Keith passed by the open kitchen door.

Keith turned into the kitchen. His arms were crossed and his shoulders were hunched. "Well, it doesn't concern you, so lay off."

"Keith, you're okay. I was worried Shiro wouldn't let me into the Red Lion's hangar to check on you. I thought something might be wrong." Hunk brought the second clean bowl over to the side counter and placed it face down.

"I'm fine."

"No, not fine. I just saw him in the training room talking to himself."

Keith looked over the dishes on the left counter. "Are you making lunch?" Keith asked ignoring Pidge.

Hunk shrugged walking back to the sink, "Lunch, early dinner, dessert. Take your pick." He pulled another dish from his pile.

"Wow, Hunk I think you went a bit overboard," Pidge said, standing on the other side of the counter, behind the pile of dishes. Pidge had to stand on her toes just to see over.

"I was stress cooking it helps me calm down. Now, what did you say about Keith talking to himself?"

"Ugh, come on, can we just drop it?"

"No, I want to know."

"What you want doesn't matter."

Hunk watched Keith and Pidge as he scrubbed.

"So I don't matter to you?"

"That's not what I said."

"I'm concerned, Keith."

Hunk slowly walked the clean plate over to the others, never taking his eyes of Keith and Pidge.

"Why, I'm fine."

"Really, you're fine with everything?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're fine talking to yourself, you're fine being half Galra, I bet you're fine with the Galra taking over the world and taking my family away too."

"Who wants yellow pie?" Hunk held the dish between the two, trying to defuse the situation.

"Pidge, you know that's not true."

"Then why are you lying?"

"Maybe the red nacho chips would be better." Hunk though, looking back at the line of dishes.

Keith sighed, looking down at the floor. "I don't want to make enemies where there are none."

"Well pushing your friends away isn't going to help."

Ding. Pidge and Keith both jumped. Hunk placed the yellow pie back on the counter. He pulled his rubber gloves off and grabbed the two blue mittens on the side of the oven. "The pizza's done."

"You made pizza?" Keith and Pidge said together. Pidge with more excitement and Keith more impressed. They walked over to the stove where Hunk laid the rainbow pizza out to cool.

"Look, you're right Pidge. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm being secretive. It's hard for me sometimes to trust people."

"We understand, right Pidge. It wasn't too long ago you were keeping secrets." Hunk said.

"Yeah, sorry for pressuring you and the bit about the Galra and my family."

"Don't worry about it. We're going to find them." Keith put his hand on her shoulder. Pidge nodded.

"Well nachos anyone?" Hunk asked.

While they waited for the pizza to cool, the three Paladins leaned against the counter picking at the chips, which seemed grainier like a cookie and the grey sauce was sweeter. They definitely weren't the nachos any of them remembered, but they were still delicious.

After the chips were gone, the pizza was ready. Keith and Pidge nearly raced to pull out two clean plates from the drawer and grab a slice. The dough was softer and like the cheese sauce on the chips it was sweeter, but Hunk had used a variety of plants as toppings, making a not too bad veggie pizza.

Pidge had a gloomy look on her face after taking a bit.

"What's wrong? Is it bad? Something looks wrong?" Hunk instantly went into his barrage of questions.

"Does this pizza have mushrooms on it?" Pidge asked, grumpily looking at the slice.

"Uh, I don't know, Pidge, maybe there is an alien plant mixed in that tastes the same."

"Do you know which one?" Pidge was picking at the different colored vegetables and sniffing them.

"I think it might be the blue cucumbers," Keith suggested.

"Really, I think it's the pink peppers," Pidge said.

Hunk took Pidge's plate away. "If you don't like it. Don't eat it. Go try the green veggie-loaf or purple curry."

"Do those have mushrooms?"

"Maybe, I don't know, try it and find out."

"No thanks. Keith, I know you don't want me to pry, but there is a reason I was so persistent."

"Why?" Keith asked, taking another bite of his pizza.

"I was trying to tell you earlier when I was in the green hangar the power went out. I went to the panel to rewire the circuits, but the panel was fully operational. I turned the lights back on with no problem, but when I turned around the hangar was destroyed. I saw construction everywhere and the Green Lion was missing its head."

"Whoa, the Green Lion lost its head. Where did it go?"

"I'm getting to that. It was in the corner under more construction. I couldn't have been in there for more than a few ticks then someone is shouting I'm not allowed in there. He brought me out into the hall and apologized saying something about the Red Lion going through a transfer."

Hunks eyes narrowed, "Hm, weird." He turned toward Keith to get his opinion and was surprised to see Keith's eyes wide in shock and a little fear.

"He said transfer?"

"Yeah, and the Red Lion, so I assumed it had something to do with you. I wanted to know if you knew anything, but you were in such a rush and then I found you talking to yourself."

"Did he have silver hair?"

"No, but the second one did."

"Wait so there are two unknown people now," Hunk asked. "And what happened to the Green Lion's head?"

"Yes, when I was brought to the hallway and we were talking, I thought I should run and bring up old logs of the castle to see when the Green Lion was damaged, but before I had the chance another showed up with silver hair. They ignored me and then I elbowed the silver one, who happened to be Shiro."

"You hurt Shiro!"

"He's fine, Hunk."

"What happened to the Green Lion?"

"Wait," Keith interrupted Hunk. "You mentioned accessing the castle logs, you can do that?"

"Sure."

"What about personnel files? Does the castle have those?"

"It's possible, but if you're looking for someone, in particular, you're going to need a name."

"I got a name." Keith pushed his plate aside.

Keith and Pidge started walking to the door as she said, "Then all I need is my laptop and to go to the generator."

"Great, I will meet you there."

Keith and Pidge went in opposite directions down the hall.

Hunk followed out into the hallway, catching a last glimpse at Pidge before she turned the corner. "So does the Green Lion still have its head?" He didn't receive a response. Hunk walked back into the kitchen and put his blue rubber gloves on to continue washing the stack of dishes.

"Don't mind me. Hunk doesn't need to know what's going on. You two just go on without me and I will just stay here and wash the dishes. It's no big deal. Just dine and dash the biggest insult in the universe."

"Hunk!"

Hunk leaned forward to see around the pile of dishes and saw Lance. "Hey, Lance." Lance stumbled into the kitchen and started eating the green veggie-loaf whole.

"I'm starving, I thought I was going to die!"

"Why, what happened?"

"A ghost tried to kill me."

Hunk pulled the rubber gloves off and walked over to Lance who had already eaten half of the green veggie-loaf. Hunk placed both his hands on Lance's shoulders. "Tell me everything."


	9. Pidge

Pidge stepped out of the elevator that the spiral staircase wrapped around to the base floor and proceeded to run down the hallway toward the Green Lion hangar. The bay door opened when she walked in and she grabbed her laptop from the side table. "Hi girl, just came for this." Pidge raised the computer up to the lion. She waited for a reply, which didn't come. The quiet made her hesitated, but then she ran out of the hangar. "Okay, see you later."

As Pidge ran out of the hangar, she looked back once more at the Green Lion before the bay doors closed and the moment they shut, Pidge ran into someone.

Pidge looked up at the figure, towering over her, and she jumped back.

"Where are you sneaking off to?" Silver hair asked.

"Nowhere."

"You know it would be nice if you helped out, instead of sneaking around, and tinkering without permission."

"Sorry, I got to go." Pidge slowly inched her way around the Altean.

He crossed his arms and shook his head disappointed. "I guess it's out of habit."

"Sure. Bye." Pidge took off running down the hall.

"Don't run. If you get hurt, you will have to show up for your check ups you've been skipping." The Silver Altean called as Pidge ran, but she didn't look back this time, but continued to run and climb, her laptop tucked under her left arm until she reached the generator room and saw the familiar giant lightning bolts on both sides of her. Keith was leaning against the control panel at the center.

"Wow, that was faster than I thought it would take."

Pidge met him at the control panel, breathing heavy and trying to catch her breath. "I ran all the way here after I saw Silver hair."

"You saw the Altean again? Where?"

Pidge was still trying to catch her breath but she got out, "Green hangar door."

"I see, well lets hook your laptop up and find out who he really is."

Pidge shook her head, "Not here." She grabbed his hand and tugged him along behind her to the far side of the generator room and through another door into a side room on their right.

The room was lit by the rectangle blue outline like a brick pattern covering both sidewalls and the back wall with a control console in the center. Pidge went to the center and opened the console panel underneath then ran a cord to her computer. Pidge sat down cross-legged and began tapping away at her laptop.

Keith walked around the room. "I thought you said you needed the generator room?"

"Nope, I just thought that would be easier to find than here. This is the storage system. Well, half of it. The side room on the left also is a storage unit. If we continued down the hall we would have reached the room where King Alfor's AI was stored. "

"Can't you access all data from any console in the castle?"

"Probably, but why try possibilities when you can go directly to the source. Also, this room is kind of out of the way so no one will bother us. I thought you might appreciate that." Pidge said, continuing to type on her laptop, connecting to the console's mainframe.

"Thanks, and I am sorry about earlier."

"I'm in, accessing personnel files now. If you want to make it up to me, tell me the name you got."

"Therron."

Pidge typed the name into her computer and a single file opened on the screen with a photo in the top left corner of a silver hair, dark skin, and pointy-eared Altean. "That's Silver hair. How did you know his name?"

"He told me in a dream."

"Well I saw him standing in front of me only a few minutes ago and I wasn't dreaming. How did we see the same person?" Pidge asked staring at the photo.

"I'm not sure, but I think Red might be trying to tell me something."

"Maybe the Green Lion is trying to do the same." She scrolled through the file, which listed generic information: birth, gender, eye color, hair color, and height. Pidge scrolled down until she reached lineage. "Keith look," Pidge pointed at the screen.

"He was King Alfor's brother."

"Younger brother," Pidge added, following the family tree bracket lines. Pidge narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, as she looked it over the tree, noticing several brakes in the lineage before it connected again.

"What is this symbol mean?" Keith pointed to a repeating golden diamond that's top folded out.

Pidge saw the symbol, which also lined up with the brakes. "I think it means King or crowned." Pidge pointed to Allura and King Alfor's names, "See both their names have the symbol, but Therron doesn't have it."

"But Allura's just a princess."

"Well, crown princess then. Also look here, this tree line continues until this point and there is no symbol, but on this new tree line that lines up with the first has the symbol. I guess a different person not connected to the original was named King or Queen, but see it switches back two lines down."

"Okay, does it say anything else about Therron in this file? What he was like. As the younger Prince, what did he do?"

Pidge scrolled up and open another attached document to the file. The page was written all in Altean. "Ugh, I really hate not being able to read Altean."

Keith was leaning over her shoulder his face inches from the screen. "Any guesses?"

Pidge pushed his head away from her screen, also hating being crowded. "No, but I think I can translate it. It's going to take some time. Let's see if there is anything else first." Pidge went back and clicked on a second attached file, but the file wouldn't open. Pidge clicked on it again, but nothing happened.

"What's wrong?"

"The file won't open." Pidge typed in an override code to bypass the link and connect her to the document, but after she tried to access the file again a notification popped up. "That's weird." Pidge typed in another code, but another notification popped up saying locked file.

"What?"

"It won't let me access the file." Pidge tried a third time, but got the same pop-up, "I can't get around it. Maybe Allure or –"

"No." Keith snapped, startling Pidge. "Sorry, Pidge."

"It's okay."

"It's a lot to take in. I could tell my dream was more than just that, but seeing this file and Therron's picture makes it very real."

"I get it. I don't know how I feel having hallucinations of this dead prince."

"Pidge, I think he was dangerous."

Pidge thought back to her first hallucination in the hallway where the blond had pulled her behind him. The more Pidge thought about it the more she felt how disrespectful the guy had acted to a prince. She knew Coran still called the crew out whenever they were disrespectful to Allura and she wasn't their princess, but this Altean stood up against Therron. "I think you're right and the other Alteans felt the same. Did you happen to see a blond Altean?"

"Yes, his name is Lux."

Pidge started typing in the new name. "Oh quiznak. I think we have hit the Liam equivalent for Altea."

"Ugh." Keith dropped his head.

"Well, the translator is going to take a while." Pidge shrugged, "Might as well."

"Okay, start at the beginning."

Pidge started running the translator on the document then went back to the personnel results for Lux. "File 1 or 9,628."

Pidge turned toward Keith, whose jaw hung open.


	10. Lance

Lance was picking at the purple veggie curry Hunk had made. Lance was leaning against the right side of the sink, while Hunk whipped down the left counter.

"So let me get this straight. You fell asleep in the Blue Lion and when you left you saw an Altean ghost. A ghost in the form of a little boy with light green hair, who forced you to follow it aimlessly through the castle to an area you don't know or remember, where you saw containers of stored memories in the room the ghost took you to, but when you left the room the containers were gone and so was the ghost."

"Exactly," Lance pointed his fork at Hunk. "The ghost went on about what happens if we die and if the stored memories are really the same as the actual person. Then he left me there to die."

Hunk washed the sponge off in the sink, "Hm, I don't know Lance. Why would ghost just all of a sudden start showing up?"

"I knew you wouldn't believe me." Lance stabbed a lump in the purple curry with his fork.

"Whoa, don't take your frustration out on my curry. I'm just suggesting we conceder all the possibilities."

"What other possibilities are there besides this castle being haunted."

"You said you fell asleep in the Blue Lion. Is there any chance you were sleep walking and it was a dream?"

"Don't you think I can tell the difference between a dream or not. Besides if it was a dream it was a very convincing one." Lance went back to poking and pushing the clumps in the curry with his fork.

"You shouldn't mess with the food."

Lance yelled at the sight of the little boy who stood on the opposite side of the counter next to Hunk, looking up at him. The boy's head barely reached all the way over the counter.

Lance's yell caused Hunk to jump and drop the sponge in the sink. "What, what's wrong?"

Lance stood up looking over the other side of the counter, but when he didn't see the boy, Lance leaned over the full counter top to look at the floor. "Did you see him?"

"See who, Lance?"

"The boy. He was standing next to you a moment ago."

"I didn't see anyone."

"Fine, but I did, so that means dreaming is out of the question. This ghost is real."

"Maybe, but it seems a lot more likely than being the only one to see a ghost, but I think Pidge and Keith might have seen something too."

"Don't tell anyone I'm here."

Lance turned his head slowly to the left at the long counter that covered the sidewall. Lance begged the voice to be just in his head, but when his eyes landed on the counter, the little Altean sat dangling his feet over the edge. "Why" was all Lance could muster, but his voice came out hoarse.

"Because Lance, hallucinating isn't normal, but can be caused by stress, which we are under with the preparation to take on Zarkon, who has under his control most of the known universe, while we have very little practice, but it's a good plan, that could fail if any part doesn't work out." Hunk rambled on.

Lance's question was directed at the Altean, who said, "I'm hiding from Therron. He says I need another check up." The Altean stuck out his tongue in disgust.

"Hunk, you're telling me you can't see him?" Lance motioned with his left hand at the Altean.

Hunk looked over to the counter and Lance followed his line of sight to the boy. "This is our secret," the Altean put his pointer to his lips, giggling.

"No, Lance, I don't see anyone."

Lance's jaw dropped as he looked back and forth between the Altean and Hunk. "I'm being haunted!" Lance yelled, crossing his arms and lowering his head down on the counter.

"Do you want to play with me?" The Altean boy asked.

"No, I don't want to play with you."

"Lance, I think you need something to help relax." Lance raised his head from under his arms to look up at Hunk, who held a blue circular cracker. "Have a cookie."

Lance reached for the cookie when the intercom came on. "Paladins, I need you on the Bridge," Allura's voice said.

Lance grabbed the cookie and shoved it into his mouth. Lance looked down at the Altean, who was standing below him, as he chewed. "It's not helping."

Hunk pulled his apron over his head and grabbed Lance's arm. "Come on." Hunk half-dragged him, which reminded Lance of the Alrean boy earlier, but once Lance started to keep pace with Hunk, he was released. Lance could see the doors to the Bridge in front of him when he felt someone pull him to the side. Lance stumbled but regained his balance, only to see the Altean boy again.

"You can't go on the Bridge. They won't let you." The Altean boy was shorter than him, but not as small as he appeared in the kitchen. Lance was almost eye level like the first time.

"Stop making me shrink or are you growing taller?" Lance tried to walk back towards the door, but the boy pulled on him again.

"You will just get in their way."

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" Lance looked back down the hallway he had come, thinking it was Shiro, but it sounded off. Lance's shoulders sank as he saw a taller more broad shoulder Altean like Shiro, but with the stupid mullet of Keith's. Just the thought of the guy somehow reminding him of Keith, made him want to make a snarky remark, but as the Altean got closer, Lance realized the Altean wasn't just tall, but extremely tall, like Galra tall if not more. The new Altean grabbed both Lance and the Altean boy by the arm and dragged him down the hallway in the opposite direction of the Bridge.

Lance noticed other Altean's running around, but looked up at an Altean woman approaching them. The male Altean said, "Take them back to their quarters and make sure they stay put."

"Yes, Lieutenant," the woman said, as she took both Lance and the Altean boy's hand.

Lance was about to follow her when he felt someone else put a hand on his shoulder and forced him to turn around. Lance pushed away and took a step back, "Stop pulling on me!" Lance looked up to see Hunk.

"I just asked where you were going, but you just continued walking way."

"It was the ghost. I mean ghosts; there are more of them. They're after me Hunk." Lance placed his hands on Hunk's shoulders looking into his Hershey eyes. Hunk tried to pull away feeling unconformable, but Lance held him in place. "They are trying to take me away, where no one will ever be able to find my body and kill me!"

Hunk looked at Lance with sincere concern. "You definitely need something stronger than a cookie."


	11. Keith

Keith fell asleep to Pidge's repeated clicking on her laptop as she shuffled through the personnel files one at a time. The lack of sleep from the night before was finally catching up with him. He laid down on the floor and closed his eyes.

Keith woke to someone pushing on his head. "This is my bed. Go to your own room, if you're going to fall asleep."

Keith realized his head was laying on a mattress and he was sitting in a chair. He looked up and saw a young Altean girl. She had black hair and pink marking under her brown eyes. She seemed very pale with no color in her cheeks and instinctually Keith placed his palm to her forehead.

"I feel much better, you don't have to worry so much."

Keith removed his hand, "What am I doing?" He scanned the room. It wasn't the dark storage room, he knew, he had fallen asleep in. The room looked the same as his own bedroom in the Castle of Lions, but that didn't mean much. There were countless cellblocks that were used by the hundreds of Alreans that lived in the castle in the past.

"The doctor says all I need is rest and my energy should return."

Keith sighed, "I don't even know who you are."

"Don't blame Sorrel, it wasn't his fault. I knew I shouldn't have gone so far."

"You aren't even listening to me."

The girl tried to sit up but then fell back on her pillow. Keith realized he had his hand over her stomach, helping ease her back down.

"Are you mad?" Tears started to form in the Altean's eyes.

Keith brushed a strand of hair out of the girls face. "I don't know what to tell you."

"I heard the nurse say it's most likely caused from an energy flux, rather than excursion."

"Why does that matter?" Keith asked more himself, knowing the girl wouldn't answer.

"She thinks from my test file and my decline in health, I will be removed from the Voltron Project." Her tears started to roll down her pale cheek, "I don't want to lose you."

Keith grabbed the girl's hand and touched his forehead to hers. Keith closed his eyes and searched for the right words. He heard a growl in his head and said, "I won't let that happen."

"Do you promise?"

"I will always protect you. I swear, nothing will keep us apart."

Keith let go of the girls' hand and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, big brother."

Keith was caught off guard but could feel his lion close. He wrapped his arms around her and held the girl tight. Keith didn't want to let go but felt helpless to do anything. He could feel himself holding back and realized it wasn't his feeling, but his lion's worry he was hiding. This time Keith already knew the response before the words even came to him, "I love you too, Waverly." Keith felt his own tear slide down his cheek.

"Paladins, I need you on the Bridge!" Allura's voice woke Keith up from the floor of the storage room. He felt the tear on his face and wiped it away before Pidge noticed.

"I have gone through, 1,237 files and didn't recognize any of the photos. We should go before Allura gets mad. I need a break from looking at this screen anyway." Pidge closed her laptop and set it on the floor.

Keith got up without a word, his mind still on the Altean girl. Keith didn't have siblings, but through the Red Lion, Keith needed to protect this girl. The words he said to the girl, weren't just words, Keith meant them in his heart. Keith could feel the Red Lion close. He thought he would be shut out forever, but now he felt more connected than ever before.

"Are you alright, Keith?" Pidge asked.

"Never better."

The two Paladins left the room and made their way back to the Bridge. "Pidge, have you found anything else about you brother and father?"

"No, we know Matt was taken by a rebel group, but as for locating them. I've had no luck."

"We will find him, Pidge and I will do all that I can to help you. I'm sorry about before when we first started and you wanted to leave to go find them. I thought it was a stupid choice, but that's because I didn't know what it's like to need to protect someone. I have been on my own for so long, I forgot what that feels like."

"What's with the change of heart?"

"I care about my teammates, even Lance, though I will deny it if you say anything."

"Understandable."

"But I also had another dream, which I'm realizing is one of the Red Lion's memories. Pidge, I think he had a sister, who was in danger, and he would do all he could to protect her, just like you would do the same for Matt. I want to do the same for all of you and be there when you need me."

"Thank you, Keith I know you always have my back. The reason I didn't leave was because I realized you all are just as important as them. We are a family, so you don't have to worry about being alone again." Pidge smiled at Keith and he returned it with a rare smile of his own.

They had made it to the Bridge and the doors opened to hear Lance bickering with Hunk and Allura was at her command post, ignoring both of them.

"Why is it so hard to believe. Seeing isn't always believing, Hunk."

"Well, I'm sorry I need proof, Lance."

"They are real I'm telling you and they want to kill me!" Lance yelled.

"What are you going on about?" Keith asked, stepping onto the Bridge. Keith looked at Allura, but she didn't acknowledge he was there. She was still not speaking to him since he had told the group he was part Galra.

"I wasn't talking to you, Keith."

"Fine, forget I asked."

"He keeps saying the castle is haunted and there are ghosts of Alteans roaming about."

"Hunk!"

"What he asked and you telling me isn't helping so why not them. Like I said earlier they were seeing things too."

Pidge and Keith looked at each other, but then Pidge said, "Nope."

Hunk stuttered, "B-b-but you said Keith was talking to himself and the Green Lion didn't have a head."

"I was trying to let out some steam. I wasn't talking to anyone on the training deck."

"And I fell asleep and just had a crazy dream."

"Crazy dream, hear that Lance," Hunk started to shake Lance. "Dreams are reasonable. You said you fell asleep, it had to be a dream."

"But I wasn't sleeping in the kitchen!"

"What is going on in here?" Shiro asked as he entered the Bridge with Coran.

Lance and Hunk turned towards Shiro and yelled, "Nothing!"

Shiro looked towards Pidge and Keith, who just shrugged.

"Well, Princess, we're all here. What is it you needed?"

Allura finally turned around and looked passed Keith towards Shiro. "I was hoping to run another full weapons diagnostic and thought it would be a good exercise for you all to train in your lions."

"You want us to willingly go out there and have you shoot at us again." Hunk said.

"Yeah because the first time wasn't good enough," Lance said.

"Well, I think it's a great idea. Team suit up and meet outside. If we are going to take on Zarkon we need to be as ready as possible." Shiro said.

Lance ran yelling, "Fine anything to get away from this cursed castle."

Hunk sulked off after him, "I hate being shot at."

Keith and Pidge headed to their elevator shaft without argument. Shiro grabbed Keith's arm as he passed. "Are you sure you're up for this?" Shiro asked, looking over at Allura. He had noticed the unspoken tension between them, but Keith didn't want to argue with Shiro, especially not in front of the others. He and Pidge had found documented proof of Therron, but Keith still didn't know much about him. He wouldn't until the file was translated, until then he was willing to wait.

"Focus on yourself, Shiro. I'll do the same." Keith didn't mean to sound harsh, but Shiro would only press him further for details if he didn't. Just as planned, Shiro released his arm and let Keith pass.

Keith makes his way down to the Red Lion's hangar and sees the protective shield is still active.

Keith jumped out of his Speeder and walked up to the force field.

Keith touched the barrier and placed his forehead to it. "I'm sorry about Waverly. I don't know what you want from me, but we will figure it out together. Don't shut me out. Let me in."

Keith felt the shield dissolve under his palms. Keith smiled and walked into the Red Lions open jaw.


	12. Shiro

Shiro watched Keith enter his individual elevator to head down into the Red Lion's hangar. Keith crossed his arms when he was inside and looked away not wanting to meet Shiro's eye. He was acting the same as before and Shiro couldn't decide if that was a good sign or not. All he knew was Keith hadn't gotten worse, so that was a small victory.

When the door closed behind Keith, Shiro turned towards Allura, who ignored the whole interaction between them. She was pulling up the list of weapons and arranging them around the castle in a defensive position. Shiro walked over to her and stepped between her and the computer screens, which disappeared when Shiro blocked Allura's view.

"Princess, I think it's important to know that whatever happens if we are to succeed, we all need to work together. That means setting our differences and feelings aside."

"I assure you, Shiro, I am perfectly aware of what is required of me. I suggest you take your own advice." Allura pushed him to the side and turned the computer screens back on, ignoring Shiro the same as she had with Keith.

Shiro looked towards Coran but received only a shrug.

Shiro clenched his left hand and stocked off to his own elevator. He knew she had a point, and just like Keith had told him, Shiro needed to focus on himself to be there to support his team. He couldn't let his concern cloud his judgment. His team was relying on him, if Shiro wasn't focused, how could he expect the others to be. Shiro needed to be strong if not for himself, then for the others.

He rode his Speeder into the hangar bay, it slowed as the Speeder approached the Black Lion, but as he looked up at the lion, his worry came flooding over him for Zarkon, Keith, Allura, his other crew-mates, and the reason for the strange visions. Shiro lowered his head and sighed trying to lock the thoughts away.

Thud.

Shiro jolted forward. His seatbelt was the only thing that prevented him from going through the windshield. The Speeder had stopped, but he hadn't reached the Black Lion yet. Shiro looked up to see a boot on top of his Speeder, and another male Altean looking down on him.

"Get Out!" The Altean said.

Shiro unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed out of the Speeder without taking his eyes off the Altean, who had brown hair, which Shiro found interesting after his conversation with Coran. The Altean had a dark tan colored skin, but not as dark as Allura and wore what appeared to be a military jacket like the other lumid hair Altean Shiro had seen before.

"You've got some nerve. I'll give you that." The Altean went on.

"I think-"

"Shut up and listen!" The Altean snapped. He stepped closer and Shiro took a step back. "You think the title of leader makes you one. You could care less about how we feel. You're so wrapped up with what's to come. You can't appreciate your life or anyone else's currently. We're just tools you can use and throw away." The Altean kicked the Speeder, cracking the cover.

The Altean took a deep breath and turned his brown eyes back on Shiro, glaring at him, with murderous intent, but he didn't come any closer. "We had an agreement, and last I checked, it didn't include me taking orders from you. If I want that I would still be under military command, but you've never held my respect or power over me. You don't even have power over yourself!"

Shiro felt a shiver run down his spine. The Altean's eyes carried a deadly fire that he could feel as his left palm became sweaty. Shiro was nervous around this furious Altean.

The Altean stepped forward until he was in Shiro's face. He was taller than Shiro and was intentionally looking down on him. "Let me make myself clear. Start giving a damn about the lives around you, or the only thing you will command and control is this damaged Speeder."

Three other Alteans entered the hangar in military uniforms. One was a dirty blond with dark skin, one had really light blond hair with a pink tint and very fair skin, and the other was in-between with honey blond color and a tan tone a little lighter than the Brown hair Altean.

"I'm sorry, Sir. He said you only wished to talk to you," said the pink tint Altean.

The Altean's started to grab the brown haired Altean, but he pushed them off. "I said I needed him to listen. It's not my fault he's incapable."

"Watch your tongue! That's no way to speak to the Crowned Prince," said the dirty blond.

"What crown? I don't see one. I see a self-centered child, who can't stand up for himself. He's a puppet that can't fight for what he believes. I'm glad I'll never see you rule. If you can even call it that," the Altean sneered. He shoved the other Alteans off and stormed out of the room with the guards following behind him. Shiro watched them leave the hangar and it wasn't until the door had closed, that he heard through the intercom in his helmet Keith's voice.

"Shiro, what's the hold-up? We're all waiting on you."

"I-I'm on my way." Shiro climbed back into the Speeder, which no longer had a crack on its windshield and entered the cockpit.

When the Black Lion turned on, Shiro heard a reassuring growl in his mind. Shiro smiled, "Thanks for the pep talk." He then took off out of the hangar.


	13. Hunk

The defenses were running at full power and the five Paladins had no time to coordinate and were on their own in the open space, which was quickly growing smaller, laced with numerous lasers that locked on to the lions position if they stood in one spot for to long.

"Allura, this isn't fair! We can't stop the attack without firing back and damaging the castle!" Lance yelled over the intercom.

"If you move fast enough, you don't need to damage the castle," Keith commented.

"No offence, Keith, but my lion doesn't do fast." Hunk said, as a laser struck his hind leg. He hoped to help defuse the situation, but it had the opposite effect.

"Maybe for the Yellow Lion, but Lance's only excuse is he's too reckless."

"Well you're too," Lance paused, "temperamental."

"Wow, I'm impressed that's a big word for you."

"That's enough, both of you!" Shiro said on the intercom. Hunk felt the heavy weight of the Black Lion jump on the Yellow Lion's head, pushing Hunk out of the way of an approaching laser.

"Thanks, Shiro."

"We need to focus, the only way we can avoid all the lasers is by using our lion's individual strengths to work together."

Hunk nose dived out of the way of another laser and saw the Red Lion weave through the lasers until he collided head-on with the Blue Lion.

"Watch it, Lance!"

"You hit me, mullet."

"Ugh, can you two shut up?" Pidge spiraled around a pattern of lasers coming up along the right side of the castle.

"Keith, what's going on?" Shiro questioned.

"Yeah, you're more irritable than usual," Lance said, flying in the opposite direction as Keith over the castle.

"Not helping, Lance. Keith, is this about earlier?"

"You want to do this now?" Keith said, doing a loop and turning right.

Hunk swung left and did another dive, crossing Pidge and the Green Lion underneath the castle.

"I told you to worry about yourself, Shiro."

"I can't it's my job to worry about my team."

"I worry all the time." Hunk butted in. "What are we worrying about?"

"Nothing!" Keith darted under the castle and up the right side of the castle and rolling to the left as another laser targeted him. "Shiro, you promised me."

"I know what I promised, but that was before I started having visions too."

The Red Lion stopped maneuvering and Hunk sped towards him and head-butted the Red Lion as a laser approached from behind. "Look out!" Hunk took a hit on the Yellow Lion's back, but the extra armor protected him.

"Thanks, Hunk." Keith swung back around towards Shiro, and Hunk followed, taking a position above the castle. "What kind of visions?"

"I've been seeing things."

"Whoa, wait, Shiro, you saw things or people," Lance interjected, weaving towards the others, but was hit by a laser and forced to loop around the castle to avoid several more.

"People, Alteans," Shiro said.

Lance came up around the castle and Hunk turned towards the Blue Lion to see it leap on the Yellow Lion and could feel the weight of the Blue Lion press down on him. "Hunk, I told you. See the castle is haunted. I knew it; the Altean ghosts have come to kill us. Did they try to kill you, Shiro?"

"Uh, no."

The Blue Lion started to shake the Yellow Lion as it dug its claws into the others back. "See Hunk."

Hunk's head started to spin as the cockpit swung back and forth. "Ugh, will you get off before I get sick."

"Hunk, Lance six o'clock," Pidge called.

"Hang on, Buddy," Lance said, before pulling the Yellow Lion with his claws to the left and spiraling down under the castle.

"Ugh, too late." Hunk turned to the side where a compartment opened and Hunk threw up in his cockpit. "Even when I'm not flying with you, Lance, you still find a way to make me sick."

"It's a talent." Lance pushed off from the Yellow Lion and maneuvered away from the new laser beams as Hunk flew in the opposite direction.

"Keith," Shiro pushed.

"What!" Keith snapped.

"You know what."

Keith and Shiro were weaving around each other, circling each other as they avoided the lasers. "Last warning, Shiro. Lay off."

"Is that really necessary?" Hunk tried to calm the tension between the two Paladins, but with little luck.

"Hunk, stay out of it," Pidge said, as she passed him.

"We need to be able to trust each other, Keith, otherwise we don't have a chance against Zarkon."

"I'm trying Shiro, but you've betrayed my trust."

"Shiro, I would let it go," Pidge said.

"Pidge, do you know something?"

"Don't answer him Pidge," Keith said.

Hunk hovered below Shiro and Keith, watching the two lion's face off. "Is this about the missing Green Lion's head?" Hunk asked

"No!" Pidge and Keith said.

"What are you hiding?" Shiro asked, getting closer to the Red Lion.

Hunk saw the Red Lion's eyes glow bright yellow and heard Keith yell, "Back off!" Before he pounced onto the face of the Black Lion and the two tumbled backwards into open space.

Hunk sped after them, digging his extended claws into the shoulders of the Red Lion and pulling him off of the Black Lion, who was shaking his head trying to get the Red Lion off. Hunk felt nauseous from the swaying, but was able to tear Keith away from the Black Lion.

"Calm down, Keith!" Hunk said when he was able to separate the two lions.

"It wasn't me, Red did it on his own."

"What did I tell you, temperamental, just like his owner," Lance said, looking down at them.

The Red Lion locked eyes with Lance and charged. Lance screamed as the Red Lion tailed him. "Call him off, Keith! Call him off!"

"I can't," Keith said. "The Red Lion has locked me out."

Hunk latched onto the Red Lion as he chased the Blue Lion around in circles. Hunk used the Yellow Lion's extra weight to pull the Red Lion back, but even with his extra strength the Red Lion struggled to break free from his hold.

Focused on keeping the Red Lion from attacking Lance, Hunk didn't see the laser coming towards him until the Red Lion wiggled out of his hold and it hit him in the chest. The Yellow Lion was thrown back and the controls went dead.

"Guys, my lion's not operational."

As Hunk lay, floating in open space, he became an instant target for a group of lasers.

"Allura, call off the lasers," Shiro yelled over the intercom.

"The attack was already fired I can't recall it."

Hunk stared at the barrage of lasers that looked like an approaching wave ready to sweep over him. Hunk feared that this was going to be it. He never thought his own friends would take him out.

The cockpit disappeared and Hunk was in what looked liked to be mountain range. The sky was lit with beams of light and falling rock debris. Two hands reached out and grabbed his shirt.

The man in front of him had the blue Altean markings under his eyes, which were partially covered by the dirt that covered his face. "Focus, soldier! It's not over yet! It's not impossible, just improbable, which means there's a possibility we haven't thought of. Pull yourself together and help me think!"

The image disappeared as Hunk's eyes focused on the current lasers coming towards him, which had begun to curve and appeared even more like a wave. Hunk thought he was seeing his life flash through his eyes as he was reminded of home and the waves that rolled off the coast of Honolulu. The lasers were like a sparkling giant wave in the sunlight.

"Find the impossible." Hunk grabbed the controls and dragged them behind him. "Go!" The Yellow Lion roared, coming back to life with the energy surge from Hunk, and started racing towards the laser wave.

"Are you crazy!" Pidge shouted over the intercom.

Hunk was in the zone and as the wave started to tip, Hunk spun the Yellow Lion around and road through the tunnel the lasers formed, and the lasers folded in on themselves and exploded behind him.

Hunk road the tunnel out and flew up to the others, who were watching above. "And that is how you avoid a wave of lasers."

"Hunk that was amazing," Lance said.

"Thank you, Lance. Now if you don't mind, Shiro. I think that makes my quota for how many shots Allura can take at me. I'm going back to the castle."

"Alright, good work team."

"Really, Shiro. I think we all know that's a lie." Pidge said, taking off behind Hunk.

"You couldn't just let it go, could you?" Keith said turning away.

"You know what, change of plans. Team meeting in the lounge, immediately."


	14. Pidge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glossary (Names I came up with)
> 
> Zelcon* Month
> 
> Keev* Week
> 
> Helos* Years
> 
> Qaifer* Altean dessert

The four Paladins each sat on their own individual couch, waiting for Shiro. Hunk was on the far right corner next to Lance. Keith sat on the other side with his arms crossed, while Pidge had the pleasure of sitting in the middle, between Lance and Keith. No one spoke; even Lance was quiet as they waited in the lounge. Pidge started tapping her hands on her legs, itching to get back down to the storage room and continue her search. The others turned to her, the only one making noise, and she stopped, slouching down in her seat. "Sorry."

Shiro came through one of the side automatic doors and stood in front of them with his own arms crossed. "I didn't call this meeting to yell. However, it has come to my attention that we haven't been able to communicate and fully trust one another. If we can't do that, then we won't be able to form Voltron." The automatic door behind them slid open and Allura and Coran came into the lounge.

"What is going on? What's wrong?" Allura demanded. She turned to glare at Keith accusingly, but Keith ignored her.

"Princess, this discussion is between the Paladins and I must kindly ask for you and Coran to leave."

All eyes turned to Shiro in surprise, Pidge, and she assumed the other Paladins, had never seen him say no to the Princess before.

Coran tried to usher Allura back out of the room, but she pulled away, "Whatever you need to discuss, we can do so together."

"Allura, I'm sorry, but we can't."

"Shiro, this is outrageous."

"Allura!" Shiro shouted, losing his patience. The rest of the Paladins lowered their heads not wanting to get in the middle of them.

Pidge peaked over the couch to see Coran lightly grab Allura's arm. "Come on, Princess. Let's, let them be." Coran was able to get Allura to follow him and the automatic door closed behind them. The Paladins all nervously, except Keith who had been avoiding looking at Shiro or Allura, turned back towards Shiro.

Shiro took a deep breath before asking, "Pidge, can you sever all communication and video links in this room."

Pidge sat up straight in her chair. "Yeah, I can do that through the control panel." She was thrilled she could be useful and help Shiro. She never knew Shiro had a temper, but Pidge didn't want to be the one to find out.

"Can you please do that?"

Pidge hopped up out of her seat and crossed to the control panel. As she crossed the room, Lance spoke up. "Wait, is what we need to talk about that serious? I don't get why Allura and Coran can't be here."

Pidge opened the panel and pulled at a few of the wired.

"This is between the five of us being a team and one unit. They aren't apart of that and they won't be able to help."

Keith spoke up, "But you think we can help each other."

Pidge disconnected two of the blue wires and closed the panel. "Communications and video are down."

"Thank you, Pidge. And yes, Keith, I do think we can help each other because, from my understanding, we've all been experiencing visions."

"Hunk hasn't seen anything," Lance said.

Pidge climbed over the back of the couch and sat back in her seat.

"Actually, I think I did. It was before I charged the wave of lasers."

Shiro stepped forward and sat on the end opposite Hunk. "What did you see?"

"I was on a planet there were lasers and rocks falling from the sky. It looked like a war zone. I also saw an Altean, who I didn't recognize."

The four other Paladins all asked at the same time, "What color hair?" Hunk jumped back he was so scared.

"I don't know brown, I think. It was a war zone it wasn't my first priority. "

"It's just an idea, but I think our lions are trying to communicate with us. The first time I saw visions was when I tried to strengthen my bond with the Black Lion. He wanted me to see through his eyes and I believe that is what they are doing."

"I agree with Shiro," Keith said.

Lance turned to him. "Really, you've been seeing things too."

"Yes, it was frustrating. I was seeing Alteans, but they couldn't hear me. It was a one-sided conversation, but when I thought of Red, I knew exactly what to say. You all might think I'm crazy, but I think the Lion's were Alteans once and we're experiencing some of their memories."

Everyone grew silent. Pidge remembered how the two Alteans had ignored her in the hallway and how they never answered her questions. Keith's theory seemed reasonable.

"Say Keith is right. I'm not agreeing with him, but say that he is. Why are they showing us the memories they are?" Lance asked, all joking aside.

"I don't know about you, but the war zone vision helped me focus on coming up with the plan to avoid those lasers."

"I also received a pep talk in the Black Lion hangar by an angry Altean, who told me to care more for my team. He also had brown hair."

"Wait you think it was the same person?" Lance asked.

Pidge and Keith exchanged looks, knowing the possibility was very likely. Pidge was the one to ask, "Did he say his name?"

Hunk and Shiro replied, "No."

Shiro turned towards Pidge and Keith. "Do you two know names?" The other Paladins turned to them expectantly.

Pidge looked to Keith for confirmation that she could tell the others, but Keith shook his head and said, "No."

Shiro turned to her and she lowered her head and avoided eye contact. She heard him sigh. "Even if we don't know names, I think it's very likely that the other Alteans we encounter are also connected to the lions."

"But there is no way to know for certain," Pidge said.

"No, but if our lion is telling us something, I urge you all to listen to what they say and tell each other. If the lions were once Altean, why did they become the lions?" Shiro turned to Keith, who still sat with his arms crossed. "Were they forced?"

Keith turned to look at Shiro. Pidge leaned forward in her seat. "Is that rhetorical?"

Shiro turned to her with a smile, "Of course, just pay attention and listen and maybe we will learn more about the lions. That's all for now. Everyone try to get some sleep, tomorrow we face Zarkon."

Everyone nodded. Shiro and Pidge were the first to get up, ready to leave.

"So just to be clear, there's not ghosts?" Lance asked.

"No, Lance." The whole room said.

Before Pidge could leave, Keith grabbed her arm. He leaned in and whispered, "Tell me if you find anything."

Pidge nodded and left for the storage room. As the automatic doors closed behind and she began down the hall, she felt someone wrap their hands around her from behind.

"Gotcha, Squirt."

Pidge let out a little scream. She had her Bayard at her side and she struck behind her, but nothing happened. Pidge squirmed underneath the grip, but it didn't help. She was picked up and placed on the shoulders of the male, who had caught her and happened to have blond hair. "Lux?" The Altean didn't respond. Pidge slouched her shoulders, "What is it with you and picking me up?"

"Games over. Now, you have to come with me." The Altean said, walking down the hall, carrying Pidge on his shoulders.

"My bad, forgot you can't hear me. What's the point of these flashbacks if I can't communicate with you?"

"You okay," Lux asked. He tilted his head sideways to look up at her. Pidge shrugged not knowing what else to say, knowing that nothing she said would matter. "You know it's late, Therron doesn't like you wandering the halls by yourself." Silence filled the hall as Pidge waited for Lux to continue. "I know the last few zelcons haven't been easy with the others," Lux paused, choosing his words carefully, "not around, but I don't want you to feel alone."

Lux turned left and continued down an identical hallway they had just turned off of. "I know what it's like to grow up without your parents." Pidge stiffened at this. She closed her eyes, reaching out towards the Green Lion, asking what she was getting at, but the Green Lion gave a soft purr and told Pidge to shush.

Lux continued completely oblivious to the exchange. "My mother died when I was young and my father passed in the Yearingal war when I was sixteen. I was shipped off to military school and after that into the war." Lux made another turn down the hall to a sector Pidge wasn't familiar with. "The Captain and I fought together a few helos ago. He was my platoon leader, but of the fifty men he commanded, half died and the others were captured and tortured. We were the only two to make it back. It wasn't his fault and the military knew it, and never blamed him, but personally, that's why he can be so defensive. He was always that way with his sister, but when he learned I had nowhere else to go, he took me in, because I believe he wanted to protect me. They're my family and if I learned anything, it's that I want to protect those I care about too."

Lux pulled Pidge off his shoulders and entered a room identical to her own quarters, but in a different sector. On the bed was a plate with what looked like some sort of glazed green snack. Pidge looked back at Lux, who smiled and said, "Happy Birthday. I wanted to be the first one to say it."

Lux kneeled down like he had done before, when he told Pidge about the Red Lion and said, "I know a lot has happened recently and you've been avoiding me, but I don't want anything to happen to you. You're the little sibling, I never had." He messed with her hair and Pidge had to hold back tears as she thought of Matt, who used to do the same thing. Pidge reached out and hugged Lux and she could feel his return hug. She closed her eyes and for a moment could imagine it was Matt hugging her.

"The point I'm getting at is Therron isn't the easiest person to get along with, but I need you to understand."

Pidge pulled away from Lux, whipping her eyes and focusing on Lux's light crisp brown ones.

"Everything Therron has done is because he cares about us."

Pidge turned away, she didn't agree with him. She trusted Keith and he had told her not to trust Therron. However, the Green Lion wouldn't answer her and she was forced to listen to Lux.

"He may seem cold, distant, and over all preoccupied, but make no mistake, he would give his life to protect you. The same as the Captain and the same as me."

"Why does it matter?" Pidge couldn't help asking, which made her mad when she knew he couldn't answer her.

"I need you to know, Squirt, because I'm not going to be around much longer. I don't want you to be alone." Lux's eyes started to fill with tears. "I know you talked to Therron about visiting your Papa, but he refused. However, after I talked it over with him for several vargas. He agreed to allow him to visit the castle once a keev. I'm sorry, I can't do more, Squirt."

Pidge hugged Lux again and said, "Thank you."

Lux ruffled her hair before saying, "It's time for bed. You can eat your qaifer tomorrow. Come on." Lux ushered Pidge into the room and she had no choice but to get in the bed.

Pidge tried to reach out to the Green Lion, asking if the reason behind the flashback was to show she wanted to help and protect her too. Pidge got a pleased growl in her head. She reached deeper, wanting to know more and kept asking the Green Lion for her name.

When Pidge was in bed Lux walked back to the door and switched the light off. "Goodnight, Squirt."

Pidge continued to search and suddenly knew the Green Lions response. "Love you, Lux."

Lux hesitated in the doorway. The automatic doors were opened and Pidge could see a smile on his face. "Love you too, Sorrel." Lux stepped out of the room and the automatic doors closed behind him.

Pidge lay in the dark for a few dobashs, processing the information Lux and the Green Lion had shared. When she was ready, she got up and exited the room into an empty corridor. She started to make her way down to the storage room, but when she finally reached the generator the intercom turned on and Hunk said, "Dinner's ready."

"Oh come on, I just got down here," Pidge said to herself. She turned around and started back towards the dining room.


	15. Lance

Lance sat on the side counter in the kitchen, where he had seen the little Altean sit earlier, as Hunk dished out one entree after another. Lance's blue eyes kept shifting around the room.

"Stop that." Hunk said, pulling a pot out of the oven.

Lance perked up like a dog caught in the act of doing something he wasn't supposed to. "What?"

Hunk placed the pot on top of the oven, and brought his hands in the blue mittens to his hips. "Whatever it is you're doing. You're making me paranoid."

"You're paranoid!" Lance jumped down from the counter. "You didn't even believe me when I mentioned seeing ghosts, but now since everyone all-of-a-sudden starts seeing ghosts it's different."

Hunk dropped his shoulders, turning back to his golden pot roast and testing the temperature. With a sign, Hunk said, "I had a vision too, Lance and can you stop calling them ghosts."

"Why that's what they are? Alteans that died, but spirits still remain, that is what is called a ghost."

"Keith said their possible memories of the lions."

"Oh well if Keith said it then it must be true."

"Lance, don't you think Keith is hard enough on himself that he doesn't need your sarcastic remarks. We're all experiencing these visions, the least you can do is pretend that you at least understand how your other teammates feel." Hunk had taken the roast and moved it to the center counter, slamming it down.

Lance jumped, startled by Hunks outburst. "I'm sorry, buddy I didn't mean to make you mad."

Hunk let out another long sigh, rubbing his forehead with his blue mitten hand. "I'm not mad, Lance. I'm scared. I don't know what is going on. I don't know why it's happening, how to fix it, or how to make it go away. All I know is, we've all been through a lot, and us nagging at each other isn't helping. Shiro didn't say it earlier, but I will. If we really want to defeat Zarkon, we need to first stop fighting each other. I don't know how you and Keith can settle your differences and I don't care how you do it, but before tomorrow you better have something better than a comeback remark."

"But he-"

Hunk raised his mitten hand in front of Lance to stop. "I don't care how, maybe your lion can help show you, but it's just something to consider." Hunk picked up a stack of plates and handed them to Lance. "Help me set the table."

Lance opened his mouth to rebuttal but decided against it. "Fine." He carried the plated into the dining room and started laying them out, as Hunk carried the food out to the table. Once the plates and silverware were laid out, Hunk opened up a monitor by the control panel and turned on the communication system. Hunk leaned into the screen and said, "Dinner's ready," into the speaker.

Lance heard the echo over the intercom in the kitchen and watched Hunk close the monitor. "What do we do now?"

"We wait for the others to arrive."

Hunk and Lance went into the dining room and sat down in the middle of the table. Lance leaned back in his chair, rocking back and forth as he waited. Hunk tapped his finger on the table until Keith walked in and sat on the opposite side of the table.

Lance watched him take his seat and cross his arms. Keith made eye contact with him and Keith raised his shoulders and asked, "What?"

Lance shrugged not saying anything and went back to rocking in his chair. Hunk frowned and continued taping.

Allura and Coran came into the room next. Allura took one look at Keith scowled and walked to the head of the table not saying anything. Coran seemed tired and defeated as he slumped in the chair on her left. It was most likely caused from having to calm Allura's frustration at being kicked out of the lounge earlier. His attempt didn't appear to have worked. She refused to acknowledge any of them in the room and started eating what was on her plate before Shiro and Pidge had arrived. The others watched her until Shiro came through the door. Their eyes turned to him and when they saw his eyes land on Allura, they turned back to her going back and forth, waiting to see what Shiro would say, but he rolled his shoulders back and walked to the other side of the table and sat at the head opposite Allura.

The group waited for one of them to say something, but Allura went on pretending no one else was in the room and Shiro remained silent, patiently waiting for Pidge to arrive.

She walked, slouching into the dining room, and paused observing the awkward tension in the room. Lance could tell she was deciding to stay or flee the room.

"We're waiting on you, Pidge," Keith spoke up.

Pidge walked in and sat next to Keith and Coran, facing Hunk.

"Everyone dig in," Shiro said, eyeing Allura, who never raised her head.

The group ate in silence. Lance saw Keith lean in to whisper to Pidge, but she shook her head and any conversation between them stopped.

Allura, having been the first to start eating, was the first to finish and got up halfway through the meal to leave without saying a word.

Shiro sighed when she left and when he had finished eating, he stood, walked over to Coran, and gave a reassuring pat on his shoulder. "I'll go apologize. Thank you for dinner, Hunk it was amazing." Hunk smiled and Lance felt a weight, he didn't realize he was carrying, leave his shoulders. He noticed a change in everyone in the room as the air became a little less stifling.

"Well good night, Paladins. I hope you all get some rest." Coran said as he left the room a few minutes later.

Pidge shoveled food into her mouth and then picked up her plate. "Thanks, Hunk." She turned to Keith and said, "I'll let you know if I find anything." Keith nodded and Pidge left through the kitchen.

"Find what?" Lance asked curiously.

"She wasn't talking to you, Lance." Keith spat Lance's earlier words back at it. Out of the corner of his eye, Lance saw Hunk hang his head.

Lance bit back the boiling remark and said, "Sorry, I asked."

Hunk turned to Lance and smiled, his big brown eyes lighting up. Keith was taken aback and stumbled over his words. "Um, well good and thanks, Hunk." Keith stood, pushing in his chair and walked out, carrying his plate into the kitchen.

Lance turned to Hunk, who was still smiling. He nudged Lance with his shoulder and said, "Well it's a start."

Together they cleared the remaining dishes from the table and the mess in the kitchen. When everything was spotless, Hunk gave Lance his blessing to leave saying, "See ya, tomorrow. Night."

"Night," Lance called after him. He folded up the hand towel he had been using to dry dishes and left it on the counter. When he left the kitchen, closing the door behind him, he saw someone walking down the hallway. "Did you forget something, Hunk?" Lance turned to see a tall male with light brown hair and tan skin. Lance almost mistook him for human if it wasn't for the blue marking under his eyes. He wore a buttoned blue military jacket and black pants. He reminded Lance of the blond Keith he had seen briefly in the hallway earlier.

"There you are. I was looking for you." The Altean said, his voice was stern and Lance stepped back, fearing he had done something to anger this Altean.

When the Altean reached his side, staring down at his with his brown eyes, Lance was half his size. "Why am I so small!" Lance yelled.

The Altean smiled and his amber brown eyes grew lighter. He placed a hand on his head and in a softer tone asked him, "Want to spend the rest of the day with me?"

Lance's mouth hung open, two thoughts crossed his mind. The first: another spirit was asking him to follow him into the unknown and the second: Keith was right. The latter was worse. It made him angry, but Lance realized the spirits couldn't hear him and whatever response he gave wouldn't matter.

Lance closed his eyes and thought of the Blue Lion. He heard the lion purr in his head and felt his lion nudge him, urging him to say yes. "Fine," Lance said with reluctance.

The Altean didn't pull on his arm like the boy had, but offered his own hand. The Altean gave another smile.

Lance looked up and down the hall before he took the Altean's offered hand. Lance felt foolish and shuffled down the hallway with the Altean. He was surprised the Altean with his height and long legs didn't take longer strides. Lance thought he would have to jog to keep up, but the Altean walked slowly, keeping pace with him. Lance looked up, realizing the Altean chose not to walk fast to make it easy on him. It made Lance smile, his older sister used to do the same.

He always felt like he was being towed around by his older brother, but Yaleiza was always at his side. She was the one, who encouraged him the most. Lance loved his brother, but their relationship revolved around beating the other at everything. The oldest versus the youngest, but with his sister, there was no competition.

Lance missed his whole family his parents, grandparents, brother, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law, nephew, and niece, but the one he missed most of all was his big sister. She was his role model and although he always wanted to be better than his brother it was Yaleiza he wanted to grow up to be like. Her kids were just as kind and loving as her and it ate at him, believing she thought he was most likely dead.

Lance lowered his head, watching his feet move beneath him. He could feel his shoulders start to shake and he wanted to cry, believing that tomorrow he might actually die. He would never be able to tell his family how much he loved them or everything he had seen. He would never be able to hug them. Lance feared that his decision to become a Paladin had broken his families heart.

The Altean stopped walking and picked him up, carrying him over his shoulder. Lance didn't protest the motion only brought him further into his past when his sister would let him stay up late watching movies when she was left to babysit him and then carry him up the stairs when he had passed out. Lance smiled, remembering those small moments. He could almost feel Yaleiza holding him. He had pushed his family away in the back of his mind to focus on the task at hand and be a good soldier like the others wanted him to be. Now the locked feeling came bubbling to the surface, washing over him like a wave. He felt himself drowning in the pain and clung tighter to the Altean as he walked, carrying him down the hall.

Lance heard the sliding of the door and opened his eyes to see the sparkling blue lights of the generator hallway at the other end. The Altean carried Lance into the room and over his shoulder, Lance saw the room was large and had a dome top. The Altean put Lance down in the center and pressed on a panel in the floor that opened up a concealed monitor stand. The Altean turned it on and turned to look down at Lance, who sat cross-legged on the floor. Lance curiously gazed up at the Altean with his cerulean blue eyes.

"I know it's not fair that the other's get days to go outside to town, but I didn't want you to miss out." The Altean tapped more buttons on the monitor. "This room can replicate captured scenery from discovered planets. It's a logged database of these environments." The Altean tapped an image and the white panels shimmered into a large desert. Lance stood up, observing the Black scorched rocks scattered on the sandy hills and the dusty yellow sky overhead. Lance could feel the heat on his skin and face. He heard a long screeching roar kind of like he thought a T-Rex would sound like, and saw a large formation of black rocks rise up out of the sand. It opened its large mouth and let out another cry. Lance put his hands over his ears and stepped back, bumping into the Altean, who leaned down. "It's alright, it can't hurt you." The massive creature looked like a snake and it curved its body, rising higher out of the ground before burrowing deep under the sand.

The Altean rose and changed the scenery. This time Lance stood on a mountaintop. It was night, but the sky was lit with what Lance knew as the northern lights. The only difference was the additional moon, which hung beside a twice as large moon as the one on earth.

The scenery changed again and Lance could feel the tears fall from his face, but the Altean didn't notice for they were hidden among the raindrops that touched his cheeks. The open grass field went on without end, but what caught his eye was the rain, which shined like white falling stars onto the field. The raindrops splashed and caused the grass to shimmer different neon colors of green, yellow, blue, orange, and pink. Lance ran through the field, leaving his own trail of neon blue light behind him. He ran in circles and loops. He raised his head up to the sky and took in the feeling of the rain on his face. He knew it wasn't earth, but in that magical moment, he could imagine he was home, dancing on Varadero Beach. He heard thunder and opened his eyes just in time to see a flash of white lightning come crashing to the ground and burst, creating a rainbow fan firework on the ground.

Lance fell to the ground, looking up at the glowing white clouds. He imagined the heat from the desert and the sand, molding underneath him as he found his way back to the Cuba shore. He lay soaking in the rain and memory of so long ago as the blue neon light rose from the grass around him. Lance spread his arms and made a snow angel in the grass, making the shimmering grass shine even brighter blue.

Lance laughed and rolled along the grassy floor. He closed his Caribbean blue eyes, reaching out to the Blue Lion and with all his heart said thank you.

The scenery changed once again and the sound of the rain and thunder disappeared. A light breeze brushed his own brown hair and Lance opened his eyes to the clear blue sky. Lance slid his hand along his side, feeling sand shift underneath him. What startled him the most was the rush of water, which rose to his knees. Lance sat up and looked out onto a teal green sea. This time he didn't cry, but lay back, listening to the waves and watching the clouds roll by, he was home.

The Altean left the monitor and came to sit next to him. He lay down and turned his head to the side, looking at Lance. "I don't want you to miss out on all the different worlds out there. I want you to be able to experience them and I want to be at your side when you do. No matter what happens, we will face it together." The Altean smiled and turned his head up to the sky, taking in the moment as Lance had done.

Lance turned his head up too and watched the clouds until the memory faded away and the scenery returned to the white dome panels.


	16. Keith

Keith barely made it to his quarters, when he crashed. The day dragged on in the hangar and training, both on the deck and in his lion, wore him out. He couldn't move, his body ached, and his muscles were tight. Keith sank into the mattress and wrapped his arms around his pillow, taking in a deep breath before closing his indigo eyes and drifting off to sleep.

He felt the cool breeze sweep his black hair across his face. The sun radiated down over him, warming his aching body. Keith dug his fingers into the earth and felt the sand slide through his fingers. He heard the sound of waves, rushing to the shore, and laughter caused Keith to sit up.

The cerulean sea stretched to the horizon and at its shoreline stood the Altean, who Keith had seen bedridden only a few hours ago, dancing on the beach. Her feet kicked up wet sand as she ran away from the waves. The child wore a white ruffled gown that went just below her knees with a light-blue cropped vest. Her hair, which appeared dark black in the castle, shone brightly with lapis color highlights that blended naturally into her hair in the sunlight.

She bent down picking up the sea foam and throwing it into the air. The ocean retracted around her and Keith kneeled in the sand observing from a distance as the girl obliviously drew in the wet sand. The wave's cerulean water washed over her and the girl cried out as she was pulled with the tide toward the heart of the sea.

"I gotcha ya," Keith said, picking her up under her arms and hoisting her into the air away from the snatching waves.

Before the wave had even crashed, Keith was on his feet moving toward the water. He lowered her down, but the girl clung to him, wrapping her small arms around his waist. He noticed the child was healthier and more energetic, but when he picked her up, he realized the allusion. The Altean weighed next to nothing and was skinnier up close. Her skin matched the Caribbean sand, causing the dark circles under her eyes to stand out and her veins to appear more pronounced.

The water shifted under her and she stumbled, trying to get a footing. Keith held onto her and she raised her head, grinning up at him. Her hazel eyes lit up capturing the blue and green ocean shades. The Altean leaned in for a second hug and Keith held her for a few ticks before he bent down, sliding his hands under her arms, and spinning her around, the water splashing up around them. The girl laughed and screamed joyfully and Keith couldn't help smile.

When he put her down, his head was spinning. He slowly focused his attention back on the Altean but was startled by the cool salty water that hit his face and stung his eyes. Keith wiped the water away with his arm and bent down to scoop up water when another splash hit him. Blindly, Keith threw the water back at the giggling girl until she had stopped, sinking to the sand, and letting the tips of the waves trail around her.

"I'm tired."

Keith walked to her side and sat down in the water. The child leaned her head against his left arm and with her left hand; she cupped the water and let it drip from her palm. The two stayed there until the Altean fell asleep in his lap. Gently, without waking her, Keith carried her to the soft sand and let her dry in the sun. Keith laid down beside her. The girl shifted position and Keith let her curl up beside him, resting her head on his chest.

Keith leaned his head back and watched the white clouds roll by. The waves calmed his nerves, the bright sun cleared his head, and the warm heat relaxed his muscles. Keith couldn't remember the last time he was so at ease. He closed his eyes, letting his mind drift away with the waves.

"Keith. Keith!"

Keith jolted awake. Pidge was shaking him with one hand while holding her laptop with her other.

"What happen?" Keith could still hear the rolling waves and see the white clouds. It took him a moment to focus on Pidge's sunken face and see the bags under her eyes behind her glasses. "What time is it?" Keith yawned. He sat up and Pidge took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Don't know, but I went through all 9,628 personnel files for Lux."

Keith wiped his hand across his face, trying to wake himself up. "Did you find him?"

"No," Pidge said, scowling.

Keith looked up at her. Her hazel eyes captured the blue white light of the computer screen and Keith was pulled back to the Altean girl. He shook his head and asked, "What do you mean you didn't find him. Are you sure you saw Lux."

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm one hundred percent positive I saw him because I even called him by name through my lion. Long blond mullet like yours, military outfit, and light brown eyes. It was Lux, but that's not all I found."

Pidge tapped on the computer then turned the screen towards Keith. He looked over the page and his indigo eyes lit up, "Does that say what I think?"

"It does. I hacked into the last history actions and found this."

Keith's eyes gazed at the history log. The last action read 'System download' with the Galra crest symbol in the corner, but the two lines his eyes read over and over again were underneath, which read 'Personnel files deleted' and 'File locked.'

"Can you override it?" Keith asked.

Pidge shook her head. "I don't have the clearance. No one does."

Keith narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Pidge took the computer and tapped on the keys before handing it back to Keith. She pointed at a pop-up box that read, 'Access denied, King Alfor's authentication required.'

Keith stared at the box. He thought his mind had returned to the beach because he could hear the crashing waves in his head. "We have to do something."

"We can't. I don't even thing Allura would be able to access these files if we asked her. King Alfor deleted them and sealed his brothers' file."

"Why," Keith asked.

Pidge shrugged, "He knew Altea was going to fall, maybe he knew they were going to hack the system."

"But not all of Therrons' file is locked. Did your program finish translating the document?"

Pidge clicked a few more keys. "Yes, it's done." Keith watched Pidge open the translated document and lean in, pressing her head against his arm to get a better look. Pidge scrolled through the document with the arrow pad. "It's a resignation."

Keith and Pidge exchanged confused looks before turning back to the document. Keith read, "As deemed by the council, Prince Therron is hereby unfit to rule Altea. By signing forthwith he is relinquishing his title to the crown."

"Why did the council think him unfit to rule?" Pidge asked, hesitantly.

Keith scrolled down the document twice, before leaning back. "It doesn't say." Pidge adjusted her glasses and reviewed the document by herself. Keith crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm really starting to dislike Therron."

"Well, the document says he wasn't removed from the royal family. Maybe it's not that bad, or he decided he didn't want to be king."

"Something happened for the council to change their mind. You don't just appoint an heir and then declare him unfit. He did something to the lions, he wasn't supposed to."

"Therron might not be easy to understand, but I think he cared."

"What! Since when did you decide that?"

"Since Lux told me too."

"Lux is manipulated by Therron. I don't trust either of them. Not after what I saw Therron do, what I felt."

Trapped and tied down to the table again, Keith watched Lux and Therron standing over him, saying this what he wanted to be with Waverly. Keith's thoughts wandered back to the Altean girl.

"You're jumping to conclusions."

Keith shrugged, "How can we know, his older brother sealed the rest of the file and deleted several others. If it's not Therron then what was King Alfor trying to hide?"

Pidge pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't know. I'm too tired to concentrate."

Keith signed, "Go get some sleep, Pidge. You're going to need your rest." Keith got out of bed and reached for his jacket, hanging on a hook beside the door.

"What are you going to do?"

Keith pulled his jacket on. "I'm going to go clear my head. I figure walking might help."

Pidge got up from the bed, clutching the computer close against her chest as she shuffled drowsily to the door. "Night."

"Night, Pidge."

The two Paladins went their separate ways and Keith wandered down the hallway, his mind fixed on the Altean girl, the Red lion's little sister, Waverly.


	17. Shiro

Shiro paced in the hallway outside the bridge. He ran his fingers through his white tuff of hair, slicking it back. The moment he let go, the patch fell back in his face. He told Coran he would speak to Allura, but now standing in the hallway, he hesitated.

"You couldn't just let it go." Keith's words played in his head. The meeting earlier had resulted in the team keeping, even more, secrets than before from each other. Shiro's attempt at talking things out had failed all day. Shiro stepped towards the door but turned away before the sensor noticed him.

Shiro felt the Black Lion's presence and heard a new voice in his head. "Start giving a damn about the lives around you." The Altean's voice was cold like Keith's but was the advice he needed. He pushed his shoulders back and walked onto the bridge.

Allura's back was turned, reviewing the plans for the attack on Zarkon. Shiro walked towards her to the upper deck. "You should take a break. You need to rest for tomorrow."

Allura waved the monitor off, folding her arms as she faced Shiro. "I know my limits and I'm perfectly aware of how far to push myself. I assure you, I will be fine for tomorrow." Allura knitted her eyebrows together as she glowered at Shiro.

"I didn't come here to argue." Allura shifted her weight, pursing her lips. "Or tell you what to do," Shiro added.

"You're doing a poor job." Allura smiled, for the first time that day, satisfied she got under his skin.

Shiro hung his shoulders. He rubbed the back of his neck; his hand sliding over the buzz cut ends. "I'm aware of that."

Allura lowered her arms and softened her eyes. "It's not your fault."

"I'm supposed to lead our team and all I've accomplished today is turning us against one another."

"The conflict is between Keith and myself."

"Well, it's not one-sided. I don't know the details, but Keith has lost trust in you."

"Trust in me! What cause does he have to judge my loyalty?"

"If I had to guess, it's the same irrational cause you have. You two are more similar than you think. You don't trust him because he's Galra and he doesn't trust you because you're Altean. Both of you fear the other is going to turn against one another."

Allura lowered her head. Her white hair fell in her face, hiding her from Shiro's gaze.

Shiro continued, confident he had reached Allura. "So you're keeping your distance, not speaking to each other because words won't convince either of you. It can't continue, we need to work together and talk it out. You can't blame Keith for his descendants' mistakes. You don't know if they were even involved with the attack or concurred other planets."

"But neither do you!" Allura shouted. She clenched her fists at her sides and straightened her torso to reach Shiro's height.

A smile played across his face in amusement. "You know it's funny, Keith said the same thing earlier. You know for two people, who think they're nothing alike. You and Keith share so much in common."

"You don't understand, Shiro. The Galra destroyed my family. I didn't even get to say a proper goodbye."

"I get it."

"No, you don't. My home planet Altea was obliterated from the universe. I can never go back. I don't know how the castle got to Arus, but I know that it was because of the Galra it was sent there. Keith might not be the one to have destroyed everything I once knew, but he is the one that reminds me of everyone and everything I have lost." Allura's arctic blue eyes began to swell with tears. "Everyone is acting like nothing has changed, but it has. When I look at Keith I see him as the Galra future that destroyed my home. I can't change that. I can't pretend everything is the same. I'm sorry, Shiro. I guess I'm not as forgiving as the Paladins."

"You don't need to apologize, Allura. You are allowed to feel lose. Keith will understand if you explain to him." Allura didn't comment, her avoiding eyes told him she was skeptical. "The reason I came to talk to you was to apologize, myself, for the way I acted in the lounge."

"Because Coran and I aren't members of this team."

"That wasn't my intention. You both are as important as anyone else. I'm not taking sides for anyone. I called the meeting for the Paladins because some things can only be shared and understood between a pilot and his lion. The others, I thought would be able to relate, but no one really wanted to share. You didn't miss out Allura."

"My father told me something very similar once. How Paladins were the only ones who could truly understand one another." Allura walked to the edge of the upper deck and sat on the ledge. Shiro moved to sit beside her.

"I wanted to be a Paladin like my father, but I wasn't selected by one of the lions. My father, however, piloted the Red Lion. Part of me believes my anger towards Keith is derived from that as well. Knowing that the lion, my own father piloted, now shares a link with a Galra descendant. The same people who murdered his previous Paladin."

"I can't imagine the pain you must feel." Shiro placed his left arm on her shoulder. "Perhaps if Keith is able to connect with the same lion as your father, you can try and find the similarities between them. Maybe then you won't feel so much anger towards Keith."

"I can try." Allura acceptable.

Shiro knew Allura wouldn't completely agree, but it was a step in the right direction and for now, Shiro didn't push it. "I hope you're both able to put this behind you. Now, I'm going to head off to bed. Sleep well, Princess." Shiro called over his shoulder as he exited the bridge.

"Goodnight, Shiro."

Shiro walked down the empty hallways towards his quarters. His footsteps sounded heavier in the silence and he thought back to the Galra cruiser ship where he was held, hostage. He heard the robotic sentries pass him and it made him paranoid when he came to an intersection in the hallways. Shiro shook his head to bring him back into the present. The purple lights of the Galra cruiser returned to the light blue torches of the castle. When he approached the automatic door to his room, he saw someone, leaning against the wall.

The figure looked up at the sound of his approaching footsteps and Shiro took in the light brown hair, tan skin, and blue markings under his razor sharp auburn eyes. The Altean straightened his military jacket and appeared more hesitant than earlier. The fire in his eyes had cooled and his poster didn't give off the same murderous intensity.

"Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you so late, but I've been waiting outside your door for some time now."

Shiro didn't speak. He waited for the Altean to continue, walking to stand beside him in front of his door.

"I came to apologize for earlier. My actions were out of line. I shouldn't have threatened you. For that, I am truly sorry."

The Altean bowed his head. Shiro felt the Black Lion nudge him to speak. "You're forgiven."

The Altean raised his head. "Lux informed me you spoke to the council on Waverly's behalf. I want to thank you for upholding your promise. I take back what I said about you being King."

"Thank you."

The Altean nodded and passed him to continue down the hallway, Shiro had walked down. He watched the Altean until he disappeared down the darkened hallway. He turned around and came face-to-face with another Altean.

Shiro jumped at the sudden closeness of the second Altean, who wore a white dress with blue trim. Her hair was cherry red. "Sir, I brought you the test results on Waverly." The Altean held out a hand-held computer. Shiro reached for it and tapped on the screen. The writing was all in Altean, but the numbers seemed to be dropping and the line graph showed a significant decrease.

"The girl is stable currently, but her Altean energy isn't rising. It's also lower than her previous state. If her energy level doesn't rise before another drop, she could die."

"What can be done?" Shiro asked. He waited for the Altean to respond, but remembered when he saw her composed patiently waiting for orders. Shiro reached out to the Black Lion for the right response. The Black Lion, who had encouraged him earlier, seemed timid and unsure of his own response. "Contact Lieutenant Lux and have him sent here immediately."

The female Altean bowed and walked down the hall. Shiro carried the computer into his room and sat on his bed. He reached out to the Black Lion, who wouldn't connect with him. "What did you do?" Shiro asked out loud. He waited for a reply, but the Black Lion had gone silent and no amount of force could draw the lion out.


	18. Hunk

Hunk trudged to his quarters after cleaning the kitchen with Lance. His chocolate brown eyes drooping struggling to stay awake. He rubbed the back of his hand constantly against them as he shuffled down the long hallway.

When he finally reached his bedroom, he locked the automatic door and climbed into his bed. He laid flat on his back, spreading his arms wide and taking up the full length of the bed.

Hunk lay still, he could hear the castle lights turn off in the hallway. The sensor not picking up any other movement outside and turning off to reserve power, which it did at night. Huck counted the whoosh sound of the lights until his eyes completely closed and he fell asleep.

A knock came at the door and Hunk woke startled. He yawned and rubbed his eyes unsure what time it was. Groggily, he got up when another knock came at the door. Hunk swiped the control panel to unlock the door and looked out into the hallway. At first, his sleepy Hershey eyes didn't see anyone, but he felt something grab hold of him.

Hunk's eyes flew open as he looked down at the small figure, wrapping his little arms around him. The sensor hadn't turned on and Hunk quickly turned his room light on from the control panel to see the figure below him.

The overhead light sprung to life and Hunk took in the pale green mop of hair and two pointy ears peeking out. Hunk patted the child's head, "You must be the Altean boy Lance talked about." The Altean looked up at Hunk with blurry lime green eyes.

Hunk alarmed pulled his hand away, fearing he had caused the boy harm. The child moved closer, hugging Hunk even tighter. "I had another nightmare." Hunk felt his t-shirt stain with the Altean's tears. He froze remembering Alani the night before he had left for the garrison.

He heard the creaking of the floorboards and squeak of the door opening. A small figure in a nightgown tiptoed towards him. A little hand reached out to grab his and Hunk reached for his side lamp. Alani, Hunk's little sister had her wavy black hair in a side braid. Alani liked to spend more time with her friends than with her elder brother, but for the past week, Alani wouldn't speak to him or anyone else in the house. Hunk thought she just wanted space, like normal, not wanting to be under Hunk's thumb. She reminded Hunk of Lance in that way, wanting to do everything herself and prove she was just as strong.

It was the night before his flight, and Alani climbed onto his bed, curling against his chest. Alani's tears fell silently and Hunk only knew she was crying from her tears seeping through his shirt. "Why do you have to go? I'll do what ever you want. I'll tell you where I hid your tool belt. I'm the one that broke the car engine you were fixing and I also ate the last of the Kopai Enaena you made. I won't do it again if you promise to stay." Hunk had been just as surprised then as he was now by this Altean.

Hunk hesitated. He raised his hands to pull the Altean away from him and the memory of Alani, but he desperately wanted to help comfort the boy. The child looked up at him and Hunk could see the same pleading look he had seen in Alani's brown eyes. He picked the boy up and carrying him to sit on the bed. Hunk closed and locked the automatic door before taking a seat on the floor in front of the child.

Hunk's own eyes started to sting as he thought of Alani. He felt the reassuring growl from the Yellow Lion and it gave Hunk confidence. "Tell me what happened," Hunk asked gently, he could almost hear the Yellow Lion speak as he uttered the words.

The little Altean kept his head down, fiddling with the blue cardigan he wore. Hunk placed his hand on top of the boy's to comfort him. The boy sniffled. "I saw Waverly. We were running through the castle, playing like we used too, but she was different. She ran off ahead of me. Waverly never used to run faster than me. She got so far ahead I lost sight of her. When I called her name, I heard her scream. I raced down the hall, but at the end of the hallway was the hangar. I opened the door and the lion stared at me lifeless."

The boy trembled and Hunk moved to the side of the bed, pulling the Altean close to him. "It's alright. It's over now."

"I miss her," the boy sobbed. "I want to see Waverly."

Hunk reached for the Yellow Lion, begging for help. "I miss her too," Hunk said, thinking of Alani, who would be turning nine soon. Hunk wondered if he had already missed her birthday.

"Did Therron kill her?" The boy's tears and sobs had subsided. The child's question came out calm and clear.

Puzzled, Hunk looked down at the Altean and when he asked the Yellow Lion, he didn't receive a response. "I-I don't know," he stuttered.

"I couldn't do anything to help her," the boy croaked.

"Hey, don't blame yourself."

"I could've been there."

Hunk panicked. He had no idea what else to say, as the Altean grew more distraught. Hunk pulled the child closer, swaying lightly from side-to-side like his mother had done years ago. The Altean continued to cry and turned to bury his head in Hunk's chest.

"Kaua I kai wai." The words came out softly as he sang the old Hawaiian song in a hushed soothing tone. "Wai olohia o Kahualoa." The melody played in his head as Hunk remembered the lyrics to 'E O Mai', which his mother used to sing to him and Alani when they were upset. "Kokohi I ka wai puhia." He knew the Altean couldn't hear him, but he continued to sing the song. "Eku'u aloha."

In the depths of his mind, Hunk felt the presence of the Yellow Lion. Hunk sang, calling out to the lion, "E O Mai."

With every note, the Yellow Lion came closer to listen to Hunk's voice. Hunk could even feel the child in his arms relax. "Kaomi I ka wai."

Hunk closed his eyes, picturing Alani in his arms as he sang like he did that night months ago. "Wai mapuna ha'ele I ka poli." Hunk rocked the Altean child, like the waves, as Hunk lulled the boy to sleep with the Hawaiian song. "Pahee'e ika wai lohia." Hunk saw Alani with her swollen brown red eyes and black hair ask him, "You'll come back won't you?" "Eku'u aloha." Tears wet his cheeks as he silently cried with the Altean boy. "E O Mai," Hunk continued to sing until they both fell asleep. The Yellow Lion watching over both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English Lyrics to 'E O Mai' by Keali'i Reichel
> 
> Kaua I kai wai - We two in the water
> 
> Wai olohia o Kahualoa - The sighing waters of Kahualoa
> 
> Kokohi I ka wai puhia - Hold back that driven current
> 
> Eku'u aloha - O my love
> 
> E O Mai - Answer me
> 
> Kaomi I ka wai - Restrain those waters
> 
> Wai mapuna ha'ele I ka poli - Surging wellsprings, stirring the heart
> 
> Pahee'e ika wai lohia - Glide on those waters as they sparkle
> 
> Eku'u aloha - O my love
> 
> E O Mai - Acknowledge me


	19. Pidge

Pidge wrapped her arms around her pillow as she curled up in a ball. Her mind wandered back and forth between Keith and Lux. Keith had become such a close crew-mate and someone Pidge viewed as like a brother and Lux reminded her so much of her own brother Matt. Both of them had two different opinions and told her different things about Therron. Pidge didn't know what to believe. She hadn't seen Therron enough to make her own judgment of him, but Keith was convinced he couldn't be trusted and Lux told her that she needed to trust him. Her mind did laps between the two and she couldn't decide who to listen to. She wanted to be able to trust both Keith and Lux, but what she wanted more than anything was Matt. She didn't want close seconds, she wanted to see and talk to her own brother.

She clung tighter to her pillow, imagining it was Matt in her arms. Her head was turned away from the room, looking at her wall where she hung the picture of her and Matt. Her bedroom door slid open and Pidge opened her eyes surprised. She heard footsteps become louder as the figure grew closer. She didn't move, wondering how someone got in when she had locked the door. Pidge felt her covers be pulled up to her shoulders and a hand reach out to lightly pat her head.

The footsteps receded, but before the door closed the figure whispered, "Goodbye, Squirt."

Pidge instantly say up calling out in the darkness, "Lux?"

The figure came to her bedside and helped her lay back down. "You should be asleep. What are you still doing up?"

Pidge wouldn't lay back down her eyes were filled with tears. She was able to make out Lux by the glowing streak of blue light over her head. She could see Matt in Lux's identical bronze eyes.

She trembled, remembering the morning of the Kerberos mission. Matt opened her door and pulled the covers over her, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. When Pidge had opened her eyes calling out to him he asked the same question.

Wrapping her arms around Lux, Pidge wept. Her willpower, which had kept her going and focus crumbled in that moment. She didn't know what the Green Lion was after but felt the lion's warm presence in that moment.

"Please, don't go." Pidge pleaded. Her grip was so tight, her fingers dug into his back.

Lux patted the back of her head, pulling her close to comfort her. "I'm sorry, Sorrel, but I have to go." Pidge felt Lux pull away and she strengthened her hold. Lux pried her arms off of him and held them in front of her. "I am going to be fine. Don't worry about me, all right. I need you to take care of yourself. Can you do that for me?"

Pidge continued to stare into Lux's bronze eyes. Her grip slowly loosened and she bent her head down. "Yes."

Lux forced her to look up at him. "You're going to live a great life and at the end of that time, we will meet again. I promise you. But even though we are to remain apart, that doesn't mean I'm not with you. Focus on your life now and the day will come sooner than you think when we will be together again."

Pidge smiled. Her hazel eyes stinging with tears, "Thank you."

The door opened and another Altean, who was female, stepped into the doorway. "Lieutenant Lux, we must be on our way."

Lux heaved a sigh, "I understand." He drew Pidge close to him once more before standing. "Goodbye Sorrel. I love you," Lux said. He leaned in to kiss her forehead and ruffled her hair for the last time.

Lux left and Pidge remained sitting upright in her bed. She wasn't as worried as before about Matt, but her curiosity was peeked. She reached out to the Green Lion asking where Lux was going but received no response. She quickly got out of bed and looked out into the hallway. Sure enough, she saw two figures turn down the left hallway. She quickly followed behind, trailing them as they made their way down to the hangars. Pidge hid behind the many containers that lay in the hallway outside the Yellow Lion's hangar. She crept forward watching as the female Altean and Lux walked in. When Pidge was close to the door she waited for another Altean to approach.

She was startled when she recognized the approaching Altean, Therron. His head was down focused on the computer tablet he held in his hand. The Sliver-gray hair was unmistakably his. Pidge observed as the other Alteans moved out of his way, but never addressed him. Therron walked into the hangar and Pidge took the moment to sneak inside.

She hid in the corner of the hangar behind some stacked contains. Slowly and as quietly as possible, she climbed up to gain a better view. Lux was looking up at the Yellow Lion. When Therron stepped forward he turned to him.

"I think you went a little overboard with the modifications." Lux laughed. Pidge could hear his voice clearly from the tower of containers.

"Perhaps, but the increase in armor will make it stronger. The modifications also allowed you to spend an extra month with Sorrel. I personally wish there was more we could do." Therron said, never looking up from his computer.

"Thank you, but you've done more than I could ask." Lux stepped forward towards a table that lay in front of the Yellow Lion. There were monitors and a control consul similar to the one Allura used to fly the ship surrounding the table. Lux jumped up on the table and removed his blue military jacket as another male Altean, who was wearing a white suit, wrapped something around his arm.

Pidge noticed that all the Alteans besides Lux and Therron wore white. She leaned forward to see what the Altean was doing and tilted the container. The tower collapsed. Crash.

"Ow!" Lux yelled.

Pidge slowly got to her feet. Some of the Alteans assisted and moved the containers off of her. Her side was bruised and her knees were scrapped, but she was mostly uninjured.

When a clear path was made Lux pushed the other Alteans out of his way to pick her up. Lux carried her to the table he sat on moments ago. Pidge felt something wet trickle down her arm and turned to see Lux was bleeding.

"You're hurt!"

"Don't move," Lux said, his voice stern.

Therron stepped forward to examine her. He looked over the cuts on her knees and checked her side. "Lux let Reklor bandage your arm before you get blood everywhere."

The male Altean who had been wrapping Lux's arm now bandaged the cut, while Therron finished looking over her. When he had finished he let out a sigh. "You're going to be fine, but you shouldn't have been here in the first place. What were you thinking?"

Pidge started into Therron's hard icy glare. She leaned back hearing Keith's warning in her head that told her Therron was dangerous. Lux stepped forward and placed a hand on Therron's shoulder. "That's not helping." Therron turned to Lux and Pidge saw the ice melt way in his eyes as Therron walked away, letting Lux take over.

"Hey, Squirt, that wasn't very smart. You could've seriously injured yourself. Are you okay?" Lux's warm smile and bronze eyes relaxed Pidge. Her fear towards Therron slipping away, it was just her and Lux.

Pidge nodded her head.

His smiled widened. "I wish you could stay," Lux looked up at Therron, who was watching the exchange from a distance, "but I don't want this to be the last memory you remember of me." Lux hugged Pidge, picking her up and carrying her to the hangar doors. She didn't fight against him this time, like she had in the Green Lion's hangar, but hung on to him. The doors opened and in the hallway, Lux put Pidge down. "Go back to your room, Squirt, and remember the good times we shared together." Lux walked back into the hangar and closed the doors with the panel.

When Pidge stepped forward the hangar opened to reveal the Yellow Lion in the empty hangar of the Castle of Lions. The containers, monitors, and table were all gone along with the Alteans including Therron and Lux.

Pidge stepped back out into the hallway and shuffled towards her room like Lux had told her to do, processing everything that happened.


	20. Lance

Lance was out the moment his head hit his pillow. He could still hear the waves rolling onto the shore and the blue streak of light over his head reminded him of the blue aura he gave off when he lay in the field. Lance couldn't remember a more peaceful moment. He thanked the Blue Lion for the hundredth time, returning to his home on Varadero beach. He slept in his own bedroom in his house, which lay on top a dune. The house's walls made of stone painted bright colors of the beach and the rickety old wooden beam roof rattling in the sea breeze. He could taste the salt from his own sweat in the heat. His shutter-paneled window was opened and carried the voice of the sea. In that moment, he forgot about being in space, on an alien ship, fighting the Galra, and believed he was once again home.

He slightly heard the automatic door to his bedroom open but wrote it off as being the sound of another wave. It wasn't until someone lifted him up that Lance was aroused. He groaned in protest, wanting to remain at the beach. The figure shushed him and Lance went back to dreaming.

He felt himself being carried away and he used the motion to bring him back to his home. Like the memory of Yaleiza carrying him up the stairs, Lance imagined he was small once more being held in his big sister's arms. The stairs and hallway were longer than he remembered, but she walked slow, careful not to wake him.

When they finally made it to his bedroom once more, Lance curled up on his side. The surface of his bed was harder than he remembered and Lance slowly opened his eyes to find he wasn't in his bedroom.

Lance lay on a table. He sat up and the Altean with the blond mullet placed a gentle hand on his arm. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to wake you." Lance watched the Altean attach a band around his arm. He felt a prick as a needle pierced his skin and then he placed a crown of wires over his head.

The blond Altean removed the extra wire cords from the table, while Lance looked around the room. He recognized the Blue Lion's hangar by the glow of blue light coming from the wall lights. Lance looked to his right and saw the Blue Lion. The power was off and Lance reached out with his mind to ask what was going on. He didn't receive an answer and decided to ask the Altean instead.

Before Lance had a chance to speak a new voice asked, "Is everything ready?"

Lance turned towards the hangar door to see a tall thin male in a blue suit step forward. As the male drew closer Lance could see his skin was dark like Allura's and he had the blue Altean markings under his even lighter blue eyes. He was different from the tall brooding blond Altean who replied nervously, "Yeah, I think so."

The second Altean came to his side checking all the wires were properly connected. Lance noticed he had a golden band around his head hidden under his powder white hair. The color seemed to glow in the darkly lit room. Lance looked back and forth between the two Alteans, noticing a significant difference in rank with the blond wearing a white t-shirt and open military jacket.

The two didn't speak much and Lance started to feel anxious. He could tell the Blue Lion knew them, but their silence was unnerving. Lance felt the Blue Lion's presence and spoke the words that she sent him, "Where's my brother?"

The Altean stopped checking the wires and moved to grab a computer monitor from a side table. "He isn't here yet."

"I want to see him. I want to see him now." Lance didn't like the look of the situation and wanted to get away. Lance tried to get down from the table, but the blond Altean was quickly at his side helping him lay down instead.

"Hey, there is no need to worry. I'll go get him. You're still not feeling well, please lay down." Lance couldn't fight against the Altean and was forced to lay on the table. The blond wrapped something around his wrists and when Lance tried to move he realized the straps restrained him.

"What is going on?" Lance's fear was taking hold.

"It's okay, there so you don't hurt yourself. I'll go find your brother." The blond Altean ran out of the hall and Lance was left alone with the silent white haired Altean, which Lance didn't think improved his situation.

"What are you doing?" Lance asked trying to make conversation.

The Altean continued to stare at the monitor. His icy eyes searched over the text. Slowly the Altean lowered the tablet. "How do you feel?"

Lance tightened his fists impatiently, but he felt the Blue Lion's presence and his strength slowly seep away. His hands relaxed and Lance's fear grew stronger. His stomach turned as he said, "I don't feel good."

The Altean's shoulders dropped and he rubbed his brow, sliding his hand back to pull at his powder white hair. He walked over to her side, holding the monitor in his hand. "Do you know why you're here, Love?"

Lance grind his teeth, letting the nickname slide. He remembered the Altean wouldn't be able to hear him, so the comment wasn't worth his breath. The Altean moved closer and Lance tried to back away, but also remembered he was strapped to the table.

"I got your test results after you had an energy flux." The Altean held up the monitor towards Lance, but he couldn't read the Altean words. The Altean pulled the file away and set it on the counter before coming over and leaning his elbow against the table. "Let me try to explain. All Alteans possess an amount of energy we call Altean energy."

"Sounds simple enough," Lance said to no one in particular.

"Altean energy is tied to our life force. Without a certain amount of energy, we wouldn't be able to live. This life energy is also referred to as quintessence. However, Alteans are special because some have the ability to control and manipulate their energy into a power source."

"The ship."

The Altean went on, ignoring Lance's commentary. "Only those with the highest amounts of energy are able to accomplish this task because they have the energy to spare. It isn't harmful to their life, but for those who have very little it's extremely dangerous." The Altean held Lance's hand and Lance looked into his electric blue eyes. "Love, your energy has always been low. If this is the average," The Altean held his other hand up in the air. "Your energy level has been here," The Altean lowered his hand a third down from the average. "And after the flux in your energy it has dropped to here," the Altean lowered his hand another third before lowering his hand to his side. The Altean looked away, collecting his thoughts. Lance watched him pull at his powdered white hair, patiently waiting for him to continue. The Altean squeezed his hand and said, "Your energy hasn't gone back up and there is no way of predicting when the next flux will happen or whether it will increase or lessen your energy. There is also the possibility that the energy you currently have won't be able to keep you alive."

Lance vision became blurry, as he understood what the Altean was saying. "I'm dying." Lance felt the Blue Lion purr and heard her voice for the first time as he spoke, "Where is my brother."

"I don't know, but we can't wait forever." The Altean let go of his hand and walked over to the counter to watch the monitor screen. "The relaxant has taken effect, which is why you feel weak. It's meant to draw out your energy, but it seems to be more effective than we planned. If your energy is too low, I don't know if the transfer will work."

The hangar doors flew open and Lance strained his neck to see who had entered. Lux ran to the other Altean's side and whispered in his ear. Lance looked to see if anyone was behind him, but the brown haired Altean, who he knew was his brother, wasn't with him. Lance felt the stream of tears trickle down into his ear. His thoughts wandered back to that moment he spent with the brown hair Altean laying at the beach and of his own sister, who had spent many days out by the shore with him. His greatest fear taking hold realizing the Blue Lion wasn't going to see her brother just like he wouldn't get to see Yaleiza or any of his family ever again.

Lux came to his side and pushed his hair out of his face. "He'll be here."

"We can't wait anymore." Lance turned his head to look behind Lux at the other Altean as he removed his suit jacket and rolled his white sleeves up.

"We can't. The transfer requires a huge source of power. You can't do it on your own."

"We can and must. Waiting will only make things worse and I won't see this transfer fail."

Lux grabbed the other Altean by his collar. "We don't even know if the transfer will even work!"

The Altean didn't move and Lux abruptly released him when he realized he was gripping too tightly. "You think I don't know that. I know all the variables and risks in play as do all of you, but this isn't just my decision." The powdered white hair Altean looked at Lance, "I can't promise you this will work, and can't guarantee you will see your brother before hand, but if it does it has the highest chance of being with your brother forever."

Lance's head was pounding he couldn't think anymore. He watched Lux step out of the way and let the other Altean walk over to the control console. He placed his hands on the controls like Allura would do when she flew the ship.

The powdered white hair Altean began to glow with white energy, which flooded through the controls. Lance felt like his soul was being tugged out of his body it reminded him of the tractor beam but on a much larger scale. Lance thought he screamed, but the sound never pierced his ears. Lance's head rolled towards the Altean as saw Lux move to pull him away. Through his hazy vision, he thought he saw the glowing white energy stretching towards him and it felt warm on the surface, while the machine ripped him apart from the inside.

The pain grew stronger and Lance didn't know if it was his thought or the Blue Lion's, but he saw the tan skin Altean with the light cedar brown hair and warm mahogany eyes. The Altean smiled at him and Lance cried out the name he didn't know but felt in his heart, which was intertwined with the Blue Lion. "RADAR!"


	21. Keith

Keith strode with determination towards the hangars after leaving Pidge. He could feel the Red Lion urging him on. Waverly was still on his mind. He could picture her smile and hear her laugh, which only pushed him to move faster down the hall. When he reached the lower level of the hangars, Keith felt pulled towards the Blue Lion's hangar.

The image of Waverly grew stronger. They were back at the beach, splashing and laughing. The Lapis highlights in her hair shining while her hazel eyes glowed blue, reflecting the cerulean sea. Keith smiled making the connection between the two for the first time.

The Red Lion's presence was so near and Keith sensed he was close to finding Waverly. As he approached the hangar doors to the Blue Lion, he saw someone pacing in front.

Keith didn't slow down but sped up as he recognized the blond mullet, realizing for the first time Lance's frustration and irritation with Keith's own hair. "What are you doing here?" Keith growled.

Lux jumped at the sound of Keith's voice and as Keith approached, Lux met his gaze. Keith saw the Altean's bronze eyes widen in fear. "Captain, I-" Lux stuttered.

Keith heard the Red Lion growl in his mind and he saw Waverly. "Where's Waverly?"

Lux tensed up even more. His hand reached for his dog tag around his neck. He slid the metal across the chain, avoiding looking at Keith. "I went to get you. I swear I did, but you weren't in your room or hers. I checked the other hangars. I couldn't-"

Keith's body moved before he even realized. He slammed Lux up against the wall. "Where's Waverly!" Keith felt a pit in his stomach.

The fear that blazed in Lux's bronze eyes falter. He didn't resist Keith's hold on him against the wall. His body drooped and quietly he said, "I'm sorry."

Keith let go of Lux, stepping away. His heart pounded in his chest. He felt the straps on his wrists. He pictured Waverly terrified and alone strapped to the table. Keith turned towards the door, but Lux grabbed onto his arm. With more confidence in his voice, he told Keith, "You can't go in there."

Keith's blood boiled as his pale skin turned red. "Like hell, I can't," Keith ripped his arm out of Lux's grasp.

"Therron's still inside," Lux protested, grabbing on tighter to Keith's arm.

"So what? I'll kill him for this." Every word out of Keith's mouth came from both him and the Red Lion. He knew what he would say and felt the Red Lion's rage spread through out his body. "I need to see my sister."

Lux pulled against Keith's arm as he tried to tug away. "You can't. She's gone, Captain."

Keith couldn't hold back his fist as he clocked Lux with his free hand. Forcing Lux to release Keith's right arm. Once free, Keith headed towards the doors and as he stood in front of the hangar, the doors flew open. Two Altean women dressed in white gowns pushed a hovering table out into the hallway.

Keith jumped out of the way so he wouldn't be run over by the table. He eyed the Altean that lay on the table and recognized Therron, but something was wrong. The Altean's mocha colored skin was a shade paler and his silver hair appeared grayer with even darker gray stripes on the front right side of his face. Keith was puzzled, but as he stepped forward to intercept the two Altean women, Lux held him back.

Keith turned on the blond Altean, but before Keith could get another swing in, Lux pulled Keith by the arm and pinned him up against the wall. "For once in your life, don't make this about you."

"You helped him kill her." Every word tasted like acid in his mouth. "What gives you the right?" Keith shoved Lux off of him.

"She was dying. She couldn't wait anymore. That includes waiting on you." Lux sighed, pacing the hallway as he ran his fingers through his blond hair. "It wasn't enough." Lux met Keith's indigo eyes and added, "She didn't have enough Altean energy for the transfer."

Keith rushed Lux, grabbing him by his open navy blue military jacket. "What are you saying? The transfer didn't work. She died for nothing."

"No, it worked." Keith lessened his grip. "After Therron transferred some of his own energy to her," Lux finished. Keith stumbled away from Lux back into the opposite wall. Lux continued, "He lost a lot of energy. It could have cost him his own life, but he was willing to give it up to uphold his promise. However, what he did is going to have repercussions."

Keith couldn't wait in the hallway anymore. He strode into the hangar and saw the lab equipment. The monitors, console, and table, which were identical to the equipment in the hangar when he went through the transfer. Keith walked up to the table and saw the white dress and light blue-cropped cover Waverly wore lying on top. Keith picked up the dress. "What happened to her body?"

"It converted into pure quintessence and dissolved," Lux answered at the doorway.

Keith lay the dress back down on the table, turning to gaze up at the Blue Lion. "How do we know the transfer worked?"

There was a pause while Keith waited for Lux to respond.

"We don't. And we won't until Waverly gives some indication through the Blue Lion. However, it may take a few days before Waverly is able to operate and activate the Blue Lion."

Keith walked forward and placed his hand on the Blue Lion's paw. He bowed his head and said quietly to himself, "I'm so sorry I wasn't here, Waverly."

"What the hell are you doing in here, Mullet?"

Keith spun around to see a surprised puffy faced blue paladin. Lance's hickory brown hair was sticking up at weird angles and Keith assumed he came straight from his quarters. He appeared shaken up and his Caribbean eyes scanned Keith with intense apprehension. "Lance-"

Keith was cut off by Lance's interjection. "Last time I'll ask. What are you doing in here?" Keith noticed the Bayard for the first time in Lance's hand and as his eyes darted towards it, the shape changed into Lance's gun.

Keith raised his hands, hoping to calm Lance's uneasiness. "I was led her by the Red Lion. I saw another memory. My guess is you had one too."

Lance didn't answer, but the gun reverted back into the Bayard form. Keith took it as a good sign and lowered his hands back down. Keith noticed Lance staring up at the Blue Lion and saw the tear slip down the Paladin's face. Keith didn't even think Lance was aware of it, his gaze remained fixed on the lion.

Keith recognized that look. He hadn't cried, but it was the same longing hopeful look he had that morning when he looked up at the Red Lion. "Lance, what did you see?" Keith asked, gently. He knew how easy he could set Lance off and didn't want to risk it.

"I-," Lance struggled to gather his thoughts. "I was in here."

Keith slowly helped lead the conversation, "You were on a table. There were monitors surrounding you."

"How do you know that?" Lance demanded, his Bayard returning to gun form.

Keith stepped forward, ignoring the gun. "Because I had a similar memory, which at the end, all I felt was pain and my whole body burning up."

Lance nodded, "It hurt."

Keith put his right hand on Lance's shoulder. He didn't know the Paladin well, but understood his fear and wanted to reassure him he wasn't alone.

"That wasn't the worst part. Someone Blue cared about never showed."

Keith's eyes stung. Lance had seen the memory only minutes before Keith arrived. Keith knew the someone Lance referred to. In that moment Lance disappeared and he saw Waverly before him. He wasn't one for touching, but Keith wrapped Lance into a huge. Startled, Lance threw his hands out to the sides and let his Bayard fall to the floor. "I'm sorry, Waverly," Keith repeated the phrase over and over.

Lance remained still with Keith clinging to him. Slowly he wrapped his arms around him, taking in the hug before pulling Keith away. Keith watched Lance's eyes shift across his face. Suddenly, Lance's Caribbean eyes lit up like Waverly's as he realized what was going on. Lance embraced Keith and let his tears fall something Keith thought Lance would never let his rival see, but in that moment they weren't rivals, crewmates, or friends. They, as Hunk had said after they had formed Voltron for the first time, were family.

Keith could hear the Red Lion speak through his voice. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

Lance squeezed Keith. "You're here now."


	22. Shiro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading. This is the end of the first part of Voltron-Origins. I will be updating again on this site when I finished the whole second part. If you wish to read it when I finish each chapter, it's on Fanfiction. My names Kestle. I also started a spin-off from the Lion's perspective. Please let me know your thoughts on the first part and let me know what you all think. Thank you again.

Shiro woke up feeling the ache in his stomach. He placed his hand over his abdomen, thinking Pidge's earlier elbow to the stomach might have been more severe than he thought, but he didn't feel a bruise.

He tried to sit up, but just raising his head was a challenge. Sweat began to form on his forehead. Unable to lift his head, he turned it to the side, noticing that he was no longer in his quarters. The mattress was wider and the room was much larger but had the familiar Altean glow of blue lights.

The automatic door slid open and Shiro used all his remaining strength to strain his neck. A dark figure rushed to his side when he began to move.

"Have you lost all your remaining senses?"

In the faint glowing blue light Shiro made out the stranger's features. He had snow-white hair, mocha colored skin, a short goatee, and Altean blue markings. His broad shoulders and build was similar to Shiro's and he looked to be about the same age. The male was familiar and it took Shiro a moment to recognize him. He'd seen the man before, roaming the castle halls and in his first visions the Black Lion shared with him. The young man standing over Shiro was King Alfor.

"Please explain to me, brother, what happened?" The young Altean assisted Shiro in laying back down and offered him a glass of water. The cold liquid relieved his dry throat and cooled his body temperature. "The doctor's say there isn't anything that can be done. We can only wait."

Shiro wanted to ask the King what he meant, but two things prevented him. First, his dry throat and second the knowledge that King Alfor wouldn't be able to hear him. He lay on the bed helpless, unable to move and unable to communicate.

Shiro searched for something to help him understand, to relate to this previous king.

"Why didn't you wait for the council's final approval? The quintessence-infused ore provides an endless supply of power. Why didn't you have to use your own energy? Brother, please speak to me?"

Keith flashed across his thoughts. He saw his most dear and childhood friend beaten and bruised in the black Blade of Marmora suit. He looked defeated but reached out towards Shiro for help. "You're like a brother to me."

Shiro could feel the Black Lion agreeing. He looked up at King Alfor and saw the same pleading eyes. Shiro had asked the Black Lion what he had done as he lay in his bed trying to fall asleep and now the Black Lion showed him this scene. Although, he was thrown off, realizing the Black Lion was King Alfor's brother, he understood that it didn't matter what he did. The Black Lion had acted to protect the ones he loved, just as Shiro had done for Matt in the gladiator ring, or Lance when the Galra invaded the castle, or any moment in his life for Keith.

"The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. He is a born leader and must be in control at all times, someone who the others will follow without question." Allura's words played in his head. He thought she was talking about him, but watching King Alfor take care of him. Shiro realized the traits she had listed belonged to the Black Lion.

Words didn't need to be spoken because he understood. "The Lions and Paladins share a mystical bond that can't be explained by science." What Shiro thought and felt couldn't be explained, but he understood. They were one and the same, both willing to do what was necessary to defend and protect the others.

Shiro felt the Black Lion's presence stronger than ever and found the words to speak. "I don't regret my choice. My job is to protect my people. I believe my work will accomplish that task, I must see it through. You were always meant to wear the crown."

"You can't just leave me with that responsibility. I can't fight to bring peace to the universe when I need to be home ruling a kingdom."

"I'm not going anywhere. I will be here to help you along with all the people who love and care about you." Shiro felt his chest clench up and he held back the pain.

"You need to rest. We will talk more once your quintessence has been restored." King Alfor's voice wasn't convincing. He seemed hesitant to leave, but Shiro sunk deep into the covers no longer resisting his need to rest.

Shiro woke the next morning to Allura's voice over the intercom saying, "Paladins meet on the Bridge." Shiro got up, got dressed, and before he left his room thought he saw King Alfor in the mirror. Shiro turned only to see his own reflection. He ran his fingers through his white patch of hair, letting it fall back into his face. The white patch seemed to be even brighter than before. He left his quarters heading down the hall towards the Bridge feeling more energetic and rested than he had in weeks.

He entered the Bridge to find the others all waiting on him. Two of the Blade of Marmora, Kolivan and Antok, were there and Slov, who Shiro choose to stand on the opposite side of the Bridge from. They reviewed their plan working out any last possible issues. "Well that's a risk will have to take." They couldn't back out now and if there was any possible reason to call the mission off Shiro needed to eliminate it. He needed to be the decisive head. This was his call and if they succeeded they would save so many lives. He was going to see it though. He could feel the Black Lion at his side encouraging him.

With the plan finalized, Shiro made his way down to the Black Lion hangar. In his speeder he got as far as the hallway leading to the hangar doors, but then the speeder shut off. Shiro tried to get the machine to move, but with no luck. He climbed out of the speeder and walked towards the hangar doors. As Shiro approached the doors he saw the familiar figure of King Alfor outside the door.

"Are you sure that is the right course of action?" Young Alfor asked fidgeting.

Shiro thought about the question, weighing the options. If Zarkon wasn't stopped now the universe would continue to suffer and there might not be anything left to protect.

"I understand. I will keep my promise. The memory wipe has already begun. I won't let anyone know the truth, but I hope one day you will want me too. When we finally get to see the universe at peace," King Alfor said.

Shiro nodded before stepping into the hangar and looking up at the glowing yellow eyes of the Black Lion standing before him.


End file.
